Gotham City: Dark Age
by disapproval-face
Summary: Gotham has become a city of crime and corruption. It is a place filled with crooked cops and wanted men looking to disappear into the flood of people, many homeless. Powerful crime lords rule and all hope seems lost. But as this dark age looms over the city, a single masked vigilante rises, taking the fight into his own hands. AU.
1. Prologue

**I started writing this on a whim back when I was new(er) on the site and had no idea how much me (and some of my readers) would fall in love with the story. I really do enjoy writing for Bruce and the others. However, I learned that (at least in my case) writing in a skill, not a talent. It's something I had to work on and it seems to come in leaps and bounds. In the time of about a year and half, my writing has greatly improved. It's still in need of a lot of work, but I'm getting there. Because of that, I'm improving all of the chapters. Only the first four will probably have signification changes other than spelling checks and rewordings.**

**I'm terrible with Character origins, so I'm going to fill you in on anything that isn't the same basic Bruce-Wayne-is-afraid-of-bats-and-his-parents-where-gunned-down-and-he-became-Batman story line. First off, during the seventies, Alfred was Birdman, Gotham's first crime fighter. His apprentice, Jasen Todd, aka Robin, was killed by his arch foe Killer Moth. Birdman gave up his fight against injustice and eventually became Thomas and Martha Waynes' butler. When they were killed, he took care of Bruce Wayne. Bruce found out who his Guardian really was and eventually became a more modern version of Birdman, Batman. And that's all that's been changed... So far.**

A rowdy group of men burst into a small, abandoned hotel room and threw their bags of money on the floor. They shut all the blinds and locked the door. Some stashed the money in a hidden compartment in the wall, while some others hid guns beneath the floor boards.

"That has to be the tenth time we've made a clean getaway. We must be pretty lucky, I guess." Said one thief.

A slightly more intelligent looking thug, most likely the leader, plopped down in the rotting coach and turned on the T.V.

"Hey, good call out their boss!" one of the lesser thugs complimented. "They had no idea we were even there."

Boss ignored him and flipped through channels. He stopped at the news.

"And now we go over to Sidney in Eastside. Sidney?"

"Well Drake, if you look behind me you'll notice a small alley way with a side door leading to a restaurant. Earlier this evening, a busboy had came out of there to throw away some trash, but was mugged. He said he was rescued by, I quote, 'A tall humanoid bat.' Sounds like anyone we know? This 'Batman' seems to be everywhere lately. Gotham might finally have a chance of lowering its steadily increasing crime rate. We'll have more at ten."

The boss switched off the T.V. Seeing that the mention of the Batman made some of his goons uneasy.

"Come on guys, don't tell me you're afraid of him? Besides, what kind of person goes around Gotham dressed up as a giant bat?"

"Someone like me." came a deep voice from above.

The ceiling above them suddenly gave way in a burst of splintered wood and dust. A dark figure with a long cape came crashing down to the floor. Several thugs aimed to shoot at him, but he tossed two metallic, bat-shaped boomerangs at them, knocking away their guns. He rushed them, slamming their heads together. He lashed out a kick behind him, knocking away a thug who had approached him with a crowbar. He grabbed up the metal tool and spun around, catching it around another thug's neck. He threw the man into another, knocking them both to the floor. He tossed the crowbar aside, walking with an authoritative stance towards the gang's leader. The bald man attempted to make a break for the door, but the cowled figure was too fast. He seemingly slid across the floor, around the man and in front of the door. Got by surprise, the man was hoisted into the air by his collar.

"Wh-who are you?"

"I'm Batman." was the simple, but terrifying reply.

Batman clenched his free hand and swung it at the boss's nose, sending him to the ground.

Just then, a fist began angrily pounding on the door.

"This is the police! Open up!"

Batman opened a window and perched himself on the windowsill. Before jumping out, he threw a baterang at the doorknob, busting it open and allowing the police entrance. He dove off the ledge before anyone could catch a glimpse of him.

* * *

Batman perched on a gargoyle statue on a Gothic style cathedral, looking out across the city.

"Wayne, police reports are coming in now." Came Alfred's voice over his intercom.

"What are their suspicions?"

"They're sure that it was you who busted the gang, but Commissioner Bullock suspects that you were at league with the gang."

"Wishful thinking on his part, or does he have proof?"

"No, it's just a suspicion."

"Lovely." Batman sighed.

"Now, you had better get back and soon. Remember, you're beginning work at Wayne Industries tomorrow and you can't be late. Even a twenty-one year old billionaire needs some rest."

"And what about Batman?"

"I think he could probably use some rest too."

* * *

"How can we not find him?" Bullock brought his fist down hard on the table. "What is it about this so called 'Batman' that we can't track him down? No finger prints, no DNA residue, no nothing!"

"Commissioner, please, try and relax." A young detective with glasses and red hair spoke up. "Over reacting like this will get us nowhere."

"You're-" Bullock sighed. "You're absolutely right, Gordon. I need to just take it easy. Does anyone know where detective Kyle is?"

"I'm right here!" The brunet haired young woman came into the office and sat down. "Sorry chief, I was running a bit late. There was a sighting of Batman a few miles from my position, so I went over to check it out."

"See, Gordon. You think I'm over obsessive with finding Batman? Look at her!" Bullock gestured towards the woman. "She has got every hobo in town looking out for Batman for her."

"I'm guessing it was a false sighting?" Gordon asked her.

"Unfortunately."

Gordon got up and went over to the window.

"So what do you two think about the rumors that Batman is the former Birdman?"

"Not a chance." Bullock waved his hand dismissively before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Birdman? Please. He would be way to old..." Selina brushed some of her dark hair back from in front of her eyes. "But Robin? Maybe."

"He died, remember?" Bullock poured himself some more coffee.

"Hm. You've got a point. I still think he must have some kind of connection. Their patterns and fighting styles are too similar. Even their patrol areas seems to be the same."

"Detective Kyle, are you seriously suggesting that Batman is patrolling? We _cops_ go out on _patrol_. Batman doesn't. He just gets lucky." Bullock set his mug down on his desk.

"You've got to admit, Bullock. That's a lot of lucky breaks for one guy."

"Not you too, Gordon. Am I the only one who thinks this guy's nuts?"

"Dunno Commissioner." Gordon said, finishing the last of his coffee. "He's helping take down a lot of gangs. I kinda like him."

* * *

The security guard paced back and forth in front of a weapon's manufacturing plant.

_What idiot decided to put this right outside of Gotham anyways? _He thought to himself. He walked to the end of the sidewalk that lined the front entrance and turned swiftly on his heel, as he had done thousands of times before. When he turned around there was someone standing only about three feet away. He had a dark black trench coat on and a round, wide rimmed hat concealing his face. From what little the guard could see, he appeared to be smiling.

"Uh... Hello?" The guard moved a little bit closer to the figure. With lightning-fast reflexes, the stranger reached out and grabbed the man and put a knife in his mouth, pressing the razor edge against his cheek, pulling it upwards. The stranger's lips were a striking red and the guard could now see that he had dirty-blond colored hair with a slightly green tinge. His face was covered in cracked, white paint. The figure seemed to be savoring the moment before finally speaking.

"You look upset, sir. Don't worry, I can fix that. Say 'SMILE!'"

**A/N: So that was the first chapter. Nothing much was changed from the original besides some spelling. The fight scene was improved a bit and it was made easier to tell who was talking the conversation between Bullock, Gordon and Selina.**

**And yes, Selena is a police officer. This is all apart of my bizarre plan... What little of a plan there is. To be full honest, I don't really know where I'm going with this. Just bare with me here, okay?**


	2. Building Up

**I'm finally back! I know, it's been awhile since I last updated. Thanks to DarkFlameTailz for reviewing :)**

**The problem is, I know where I want this story to go, but I don't know how to get there. I suppose I'll just kind of tinker with this until I get it to the fun part with lots of Killer Croc/Poison Ivy, Batman-kicking-Joker's-butt, and Nightwing/Batgirl action :0**

**So, should you have any ideas, feel free to tell me in the reviews, so, until then, let's begin!**

The sun was just slipping beneath the Gotham horizon as Commissioner Bullock drove through the Narrows en route to Arkham Asylum.

He sped across the little bridge and past security and finally he pulled up to the main gates and parked his car.

He got out of the vehicle and it made a small groan from the release of his weight. He stroked his half-shaved face and lit up a cigar.

"Gordon, am I late?" He said as he walked up to the redhead police Sargent.

"No sir. The Mayor has just arrived. It looks promising, Commissioner. Could you imagine what it would be like if this place were running again?"

Bullock looked around the decaying building and the surrounding grounds.

"_If_ we can get this to work, Gotham could really get cleaned up. Josephine Arkham seems to be honest enough, and she could probably pull it off."

"I just hope she's not too much like her grand-father." Sergeant Kyle said as she joined the two. "When he built this place, he nearly became as insane as the people he swore to help. His wife was brutally murdered and his son was skinned alive."

"And what is to keep that from happening to this new generation of Arkhams?" Bullock questioned.

"My grandfather kept his residence on the island," The blond haired beauty known as Josephine Arkham explained as she approached them. "I will be staying in my suburb apartment."

"And what happens at night when you leave?" Gordon inquired.

"My brother, Adam Arkham will be working here at night. Both me and him will have thirty guards and nearly fifteen additional psychologists on duty at all times." She said with a smile that could have won the world.

"Sixty-two employees, and that's not including accountants, cooks, nurses and maintenance workers. How are you intending on funding all this?" Selena asked.

"Both Mayor Hill and Bruce Wayne have been making considerable donations. That on top of grants from five different organizations, I think we should be able to make a considerable amount of money. And speaking of Mayor Hill, here he comes now." She gestured to the smartly dressed man striding up the drive way.

"Mrs Arkham, it's good to meet you!" He extended his hand and she warmly shook it.

"It's good to meet you too. I have already met Commissioner Bullock, and Sergeants Jim Gordon and Selena Kyle."

"Jim, I heard you had a daughter. How's that going?" Hill asked.

"It's going well. Barbra is everything my wife and I hoped she would be." Gordon smiled.

"Now, if you four wouldn't mind, I would like to show you around the place." Arkham gestured for them to follow her into the old building.

"Mr. Wayne, you must understand, that we can't just give you the company." Arthur Hefton explained as he and Bruce headed towards an elevator in Wayne Industries' main building. "As much as I'm sure you would do a good job, your father did state that Alfred and I would give you the company and full access to it's funds if and when we felt you were ready. So we're going to have you start small and than work your way up the corporate ladder. By the time you've reached the right age and have had the right amount of experience, I'll be ready to retire, and than you can take my place as CEO of the company."

"So, where will I be working, then?"

"Storage." Hefton hit the down button, summoning the elevator.

"Storage?"

"Not all of our inventions make it big on the market. Our military designs have never been very much appreciated because the U.S. Military doesn't want a company making bombs next to electric skillets. We have a pretty broad range of electronics and other such devices." He explained as he stepped in and hit the 'B' button on the elevator.

"Do we make much for the military?"

"Not really. I mean, it's enough that we can fill up our basement, but not that much, I mean, compared to say, Gothcorp. Anyways, we keep all of our military equipment as well as all of our surplus merchandise down here."

The double doors slid open and the two men walked out into what looked like a giant parking garage. White light gleamed over head, illuminating the cement floor. They walked up to a middle aged African American who gladly shook Wayne's hand.

"Bruce Wayne, this is Lucius Fox, our sole working down here. He'll show you around and what not, but until then, I've got a meeting to attend to. Keep your fingers crossed, Fox. A lot of these weapons might be getting cleared out of here in the next few weeks if this meeting with the Arkham Security Directer works out."

"I will sir." Lucius replied, his voice having a slightly Cajun sound. "Now, Mr. Wayne," He smiled, after Arthur was gone. "Let me show you around."

"Right now we are going through the west wing of the asylum. It's in pretty good shape, but then we have the east wing, which needs a lot of repairs." Arkham explained as she led Jim Gordon, Chief Bullock, Selena Kyle and Mayor Hill through the rickety old building. "Down that hall is an old room that we're going to make into an indoor gym, that way the inmates will having something to do in their spare time."

Jim Gordon sighed as she led him along. The building was decaying all around and there were walls that barely stood due to the number of holes. The place had been sitting empty since close to nineteen-seventy. He wished he could get out of the place and get some fresh air, but he knew he would have no such luck. The people of Gotham were terrified of the idea of yet another Arkham Massacre. The place had been closed down years before due to the original Arkham going insane and leading an army of his patients out against the citizens of Gotham. Hundreds had died that day, and some said that that was what spurred Bird Man to first rise up against evil.

Jim Gordon stopped in his tracks. Someone was approaching them from behind. His mind's eye flashed through hundreds of images of horrific, mutilated men who had survived in here for so long. His hand went down to his gun handle as he slowly, cautiously turned around.

Bruce Wayne had to admit, the 'Basement' was pretty impressive. For the most part, he was supposed to keep check of access stock, but since that only took him a little while, Lucius would let him test some of the machinery and vehicles.

They had at least fifteen different car types, all of which were state of the art military transports. There were even a few that Lucius had put together in his spare time using extra parts.

As he test drove car after car and looked at enough armor to supply a small U.S. Army garrison, he couldn't help but imagine Batman getting his hands on some of it.

The weapons manufacturer had had more than enough equipment to fit the thief's plans. He stood in the small basement of his run-down, Narrows apartment and surveyed what he had so far. The bomb, the guns, the stolen getaway cars he had hidden by the docks.

Several of his thugs came down into the basement, their faces smeared with white paint.

"Okay, gentlemen." His droning voice announced. "Tomorrow at 1:37 pm., on the dot, we're gonna hit the bank. Kill all witnesses, blow the vault wide open, take no money."

The thugs nodded in silent agreement, and turned to head back up the stairs to the first floor.

"And remember, boys," He called over his shoulder. "No funny stuff." He broke out into a cackling laughter that could have split someone's eardrums.

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small zip-lock bag, grinning to himself. He pulled out the contents and leafed through them.

_I've got more than enough calling cards for the job. _He though to himself as he tossed one of the cards down on his desk, revealing it to be a Joker playing card.

_/\/\_

\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/

**No, not a whole lot of action, but it's got enough. Hope you faithful few liked it XD. So who was behind Gordon? Who was the guy with the joker card (You'll never guess!) and will Bruce manage to get his hands on any of these bad*** weapons? Hmf. Like I'm gonna just _tell_ you.**


	3. The Clown Prince Of Crime

**Nu-nu-nu-nu-nu-nu-nu-nu-nu-nu-Batman! Batman! Batman!**

Jim Gordon stopped in his tracks. Someone was approaching them from behind. His mind's eye flashed through hundreds of images of horrific, mutilated men who had survived in here for so long. His hand went down to his gun handle as he slowly, cautiously turned around. He let out a cry of alarm when he found himself face to face with someone, but he quickly regained his composer.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Everyone, this is Dr. Crane. He'll be one of our leading psychologists."

"I'm sorry if I scared you." The man apologized.

"Oh, don't worry. No trouble at all." Gordon said, but he still was a bit uneasy. There was something about Dr. Crane that just rubbed him the wrong way. The man just seemed intimidating, and for no apparent reason. Gordon made a mental note of it and went back to listening to Arkham as she showed them around.

The next day, Bullock sat behind his desk, sorting out paper work. It was one of the few times when he could work and still hear himself think. There always seemed to be something going on, especially with Falco running the criminal underworld like some kind of super dictator.

His walky-talky let out a small beep before a click and then Gordon's voice.

"Sir, someone just tripped the alarm at Gotham First Bank. Whatever is going on, it's big."

"I'll be right over there Gordon. Secure the perimeter and let no one in or out. Get at least five units down there now."

"Yes sir. Over and out."

Bullock sat up and grabbed his coat and his favorite hat.

_Yeah. Just when I'm gettin' comfortable, some idiot has to blow something up, or shoot someone, or some other crap... _He though to himself.

Gotham First Bank wasn't an extremely big bank, but large enough that it held some of the largest quantities of cash. In addition, it was in one of the nicest parts of Gotham, and so people trusted it more than any other bank.

Two armed thugs piled up the corpses of the witnesses. They finished their handy work and one stopped to look at his wrist watch.

"Did the boss ever say what these were for?" He asked.

"Na. They don't keep time, and they seem rather chunky, so I find it somewhat of a nascence, but the boss did say that we had to keep em' on. That and this stupid face paint." He gestured to his face, which was covered in white paint.

"Hm. The boss is one weird guy. I wonder how he and #3 are doing."

"Dunno."

The thug with the designated number of '3' was busying himself with opening the large vault that held the money.

"I got it boss!" He said triumphantly as the large metal door swung open.

"Oh, yay. Maybe you aren't entirely incompetent. Now out of my way."

The 'boss' walked into the vault area and began pulling out all of the shelves, knocking all of the money on to the floor.

"Don't just stand around! Help me!"

#3 quickly complied and started spilling money onto the floor. The boss than went back out and dug around in a tote bag and pulled out a canister of lighter fluid. He splashed the contents all over the money and tossed a match onto it.

"And now I need to get out of here." The boss mumbled to himself.

"What about me?" #3 asked.

"Oh, well, you can drop dead." The boss reached into his trench coat pocket and pulled out a small detonator. He the button that was on it and #3 suddenly flinched.

The unfortunate guard felt something prick into his wrist. He pulled off the watch that his boss had told him to wear and found that he had been poked with a needle. He looked down at the small cut that was no bleeding and festering.

"B-boss...w-what—wuz—oon-thut-need-le..."

"Oh, not much, just rattle snake and black widow poison. Thought it might help loosen you up a bit." The boss smirked and started to laugh as his henchman slumped down to the floor.. He regained his composer when the sound of police sirens reached his ears. He made sure his wide rimmed hat was secure on his head and began walking towards the back entrance. Before leaving, he looked back into the center lobby, his eyes scanning the room. The two shift pupils finally landed on the other two thugs, who were lying dead on the floor. Next to them was a large bomb.

He nodded, his face contorted in a large grin. "Well, at least they could get something right..." He mumbled. He hit another button on his detonator just after leaving the building.

Inside, the bomb blew up. It wasn't a powerful blast, but enough to scatter it's contents: Hundreds of joker playing cards.

Gordon and several armed men had been just about to open the bank's double doors, when they were suddenly knocked back from the explosion from inside.

As soon as he was on his feet, Gordon threw the door open and burst inside. One could only imagine his surprise upon seeing that it was seemingly raining joker cards inside.

"Jim, did the forensic lab ever send back any results on those cards?" Selena asked, sitting at her desk, looking up at the Sargent who had just walked in.

"No. They just went in yesterday, so it might be awhile. They haven't even been able to identify the card's manufacturer."

"There must be some kind of identification on those cards! What about the bullets from the guns? What about the three dead thugs?" Bullock looked perplexed, coming into the office.

"As far as we can tell, they had some kind of watches that had been loaded with surgical-style needles, filled with Rattle Snake Poison." Jim informed him.

"What kind of a maniac injects his victims with rattler poison?" Bullock shook his head.

"Well, look on the bright side, he's probably not working for Falco." Selena said, typing away at her computer. "Also, some good news, Arkham Asylum should be up and running in more or less of one month."

Bullock nodded, his facial expression looking slightly more cheerful. "That is good. Whenever they open it, we can start transferring some of the inmates out of county and putting them into there. I mean, we could give some of our criminally insane inmates to more capable asylums long ago, but they're always too far away, and transferring them over that great of a distance just wouldn't be safe. I mean, could you imagine trying to keep Zauz—Zhahaz- Uh-"

"Zsasz?" Gordon offered.

"How am I supposed to pronounce that? You know who I mean! The guy with the knife. How are we suppose to keep him locked up in a van for more than and hour with out him breaking lose or killing any of the guards, or worse, the driver."

"That's true." Selena nodded. "When ever Arkham is completed, it's going to make our lives a who lot easier."

Bruce sat in the Batcave behind a large microscope, studying one of the Joker cards.

"Practicing for poker?" Alfred asked as he came down the stairs.

Wayne chuckled. "No, I just want to check for DNA residue on this card."

"Found anything yet."

"No, who ever planted these in that bomb was very careful as not to touch them with their bare hands. Did you ever come across anything like this when you were Birdman?"

"No," Alfred shook his head. "I don't recall ever having to mess with someone who was madly obsessed with cards, or Jokers. Were those not the only cards found present?"

"Yeah. I would have thought that they would have thrown in some aces or something, but they're just using Jokers. Kind of strange, don't you think?"

Bruce nodded. "Was there something you needed?"

"Oh, yes. Mr. Dent is coming up the drive way. He should be here in about ten minutes."

Bruce nodded again before heading up stairs to change cloths (he was wearing a old white t-shirt, a pair of ripped jeans and a lab coat).

Harvey Dent sped up the 'driveway' to Wayne Manor. The 'driveway' was almost the size of a football field and winded and twisted through an array of plant life and grass fields. Despite the extravagant front lawn and the enormous mansion, Harvey suspected that Wayne wasn't very happy. He had lost his parents when he was young, and he had blamed himself. They had known one another for years, but yet Wayne had seemed distant lately. His mind was always preoccupied. He was always trying to call later at night, but Alfred would always say he was out, but Harvey felt that Wayne was avoiding him for some reason. Despite this, he was never going to quit being Wayne's friend. He was going to help Bruce through this mess, if it was the last thing he did.

Harvey parked his car in front of the mansion and went up to where Bruce stood with the door open at the entrance.

"Harvey, good to see you!"

"Good to see you too, Bruce."

Wayne bid him to come in and he gladly agreed.

"So, you're almost done with law school I hear."

"Actually, I'm now officially a lawyer."

Wayne's smile almost doubled. "Congratulations, Harvey. Welcome to the big leagues!"

"Heard you got a job, too."

"Yeah. It's pretty good. Nothing big yet, but hey, you should be able to start making pretty good money."

"I've already got a client, nothing big, just a lawsuit over some spilled coffee at a restaurant or something else ridiculous, but hey, it's a opportunity. So what else is going on with you?"

"Oh," Wayne shrugged his shoulders. "Not much."

The criminal boss stood out on the docks with several gangsters gathered around him.

"Listen, dude, why should the Black Vipers start working for you? What do you have to offer us?"

The man in the black trench coat chuckled.

"I've got everything to offer you! Wealth, power, women. Whatever you want, you can get it. I plan to bring this city to its knees."

"You talk pretty big, dude, but you ain't got a whole lot to show. You broke into Gotham First Bank, but that place has got minimal security and you got nothing out of it. You blew it up, grabbed no money, and then all three of your henchmen were killed. Working for you doesn't sound worthwhile, dude."

"Well, okay, _dude_." The criminal boss chuckled to himself again. "You guys can leave, do whatever, but first, two things: First, here's my card." He gave the gang leader a small Joker playing card. The older teenager just looked at it.\

"This some kind of joke?"

"Well, that is what they call me," the boss was smiling, the gangsters couldn't see his face from under his wide brimmed hat, but they knew he was smiling. "And secondly, cheer up."

"What-" The gang leader was cut off by Joker shoving the card's razor sharp edge between his ribs, slicing his lungs and killing him.

"New rules, boys. From now on, I'm your boss and you'll take orders from me."

"Who the heck are you, freak?" One of the gangsters demanded.

"Simple, really," the man removed his hat, revealing his face and dropped off his trench coat.

He was wearing a purple suit with a green bow tie and a lighter purple vest. His pants were a denim purple. His long, curly hair was a stingy green, but was probably black at one point. His eyes were small and black, with almost no iris. The left side of his mouth had a huge cut that went upwards, making it look like he was constantly smiling. His lips were painted red and his face was covered in cracked, white paint. "I'm the clown prince of crime, but you can call me The Joker." He smiled to himself. He now had close to fifteen men at his disposal, and dispose of them he would. Gotham was going to learn to fear him. Gotham City would come to know and fear his very name, and at that, he laughed.

_/\/\_

\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/

**Wow. I really liked this chapter, but it took me awhile. I know, still not a whole lot of action, and its kind of following a theme similar to the Dark Knight, but I don't want it to be to much like it. I'm trying to find the balance between Hieth Ledger and Mark Hamil's Jokers. Or at least I think his name was Mark Hamil. I don't really remember. You know, the guy who played Luke Skywalker and is now gay. Anyhow, I'm just glad that I'm finally getting somewhere in this story. Thanks again to Darkflametailz for reviewing, and you know what? If you review, I'll mention you too! :)**


	4. A Foild Robbery

**I'm just starting this chapter, though I have no idea where the Hagsmire I'm going with it, or where I'm starting, so I'll figure it out as I go. Lol. Ultimate Guardians Of Ga'Hool reference...**

Rupert Falcone wasn't a very happy man. In fact, to say he was the single most unhappy man in the entire universe would be an understatement. His revenue was skyrocketing and there seemed to be no end to the businesses under his control, and still, he was unhappy. He was unhappy because some freak dressed as a clown was running about the city spreading fear. HIS city. People were terrified of this clown known only as the Joker. He only had about fifteen men under his control, but he was ruthless. He seemingly had no drive, no purpose, and no gain in his criminal rampage. Random buildings being burned, a wealthy store owner shot with no belongings stolen, and several hundred thousand dollars in cash being burned at Gotham First Bank. This man was becoming a problem, and on top of that, he had Batman to worry about, all resulting in serious loss of clients.

He wished he could just will it all away, to just have everything go back to the way it was a year before, when he alone controlled the criminal underworld of Gotham and no police officer would dare cross his path, not even Commissioner Bullock. But he knew it was all wishful thinking. The past was gone, vanished, and there was no way to get it back. Falcone stared out his window, glaring at the city before him. It was pathetic. Fifteen years of building a Criminal Super Power, and than it was all destroyed by a clown and a guy dressed as a bat.

Or was it destroyed?

This new client in Gothcorp said he'd been around the block once or twice with freaks of all sorts, even do-gooders like the legendary Birdman of the '70's. This new client had power, influence, and weapons. Lots and _lots_ of weapons. He smiled to himself. Maybe not everything was going tribally wrong.

Bruce Wayne sat behind his lab desk in the Batcave, examining an explosive detonator that had failed to go off at one of the Joker's random acts of terror.

"Having any luck?" Alfred asked as he came down into the cave.

"Not so much. It appears to be mostly homemade and there are no traces of DNA on it."

"Just like everything else this lunatic plants."

"Exactly." Bruce shook his head. "None the less, even if something was assembled at home, the parts used to make it have to come from somewhere. I'll try patching into police records and find out if there's any sign of similar parts being stolen."

"Mss. Stenson called again, as did Mss. Waller. They both want a _follow up,_ as I believe it's called, on your dates with them."

"Actually, Alfred, just 'date', not 'dates'."

"You went out with two women at the same time? What has this world come to?"

"Relax Alfred. It's all just for show. As long as people believe I'm just a billionaire with too much money, they won't suspect I'm Batman."

"Hm." Alfred looked over at a microscope on Bruce's desk. "Is that new?"

"Luscious Fox, the man who works the warehouse for Wayne Enterprises, he let me borrow it."

"Do you borrow many things from the company?"

"Luscious seems to think that since I technically own the company, I have the right to 'Borrow' from it."

"Is the Board aware of this?"

"Don't know, don't care."

"Sound's like you're not too happy with the Board."

"I'm not. They've been trying to say that the company should go public and that I shouldn't be allowed to take control as the head of the Board."

"But that's ridiculous! Your father stated in his will that you would take over the company as its head."

Wayne frowned. "Tell that to Arthur Hefton. That man has been trying to get at my fortune since I can remember… And there… We… Go." Wayne pulled the detonator in half. "I finally shut of the mechanism so it wouldn't blow up when I tried to open it. And now to try and get these pieces apart so I can take a closer look..."

Drury Walker sat behind his desk, looking out his window at the great expanse of Gotham City. Years before, he had had his excitement out on the streets. He had once been feared. The criminal underworld had been under his control, but not anymore. Now, in his old age, he had to stand back and watch from the sidelines. However, the sidelines were a pretty nice place to be. He was now the CEO and sole owner of Gothcorp. 'Building a better Gotham'. That was his company's motto, but for him, it was 'building a better Gotham Underworld'. He smiled to himself. He even now had Rupert Falcone under his thumb. Yes, for Drury Walker, the sidelines were a perfectly okay vantage point.

_Three days later..._

It was the second annual Orphans' Dinner, hosted by Bruce Wayne at an upstate hotel. With meals starting at a hundred dollars a piece, and an auction that would begin later, they were sure to raise enough money to provide for the Gotham City Orphanage and it's increasing number of residents.

Close to five hundred people showed up, all in their finest apparel. Wayne was, as usual, the last one to show up. He felt a pang of guilt as he approached the front doors.

_it's only one night off._ He kept telling himself. None the less, he felt guilty for no being out on patrol.

The greeter pushed the large glass doors open, allowing Wayne to enter.

The inside of the hotel was magnificent. The tables had all been moved over to the sides, leaving an open space in the middle of the room for party goers to dance to the slow jazz music that was being played by the band in the back.

Wayne was soon surrounded by people, asking questions, and insisting they knew him somehow.

_God, I hate crowds..._

The auction finally began and people began bidding on jewelry and art that had been donated.

"Six hundred!" One man said for a painting of a pride of lions on a savanna plain.

"One thousand!" Another man shouted.

"Ten thousand!" Wayne called from the back. Their were a few "oohs" and "Aahs"

"Ten thousand! Do I hear twenty thousand?" The spokesman asked. "Going once. Going-"

"Five-hundred thousand!" Everyone's head's turned to look at a young woman about the same age as Wayne.

"Six-Hundred thousand!" Wayne shouted.

"One million." The woman said with a smirk.

"Sold for one-million dollars to... What was your name?"

"Officer Selena Kyle."

"Well, looks like the PD is a lot better paying than we all thought. Sold to Officer Selena Kyle for sum of one million dollars."

"You've gotta wonder where all that cash comes from, Ms. Kyle." There were several screams from the back. Wayne turned around and saw a strangely dressed man entering the room. By the way he was dressed, Wayne knew he had to be the Joker.

"You! Down on the ground! You're wanted for questioning!" Selena said as she pulled her gun out of her coat. Before she even had her hand's firmly on the handle, Joker already had a automatic trained on her forehead.

"Uh-uh-uhhh. Not a good idea, Ms. Kyle. Now, how much money do you all reckon is in this place?" No one said anything. "Aw, you're right. Who needs to count. Give me everything you have. Jewelry, cash, credit cards, cell phones. Anything of value." Still, no one moved. "I SAID GIVE IT TO ME!"

Wayne had managed to back himself up against a wall and was carefully inching his way towards a back door. He finally reached it and found that there was thug with his back to the door. Wayne swiftly brought his fist up between the man;s legs and than his other down on the man's head. Wayne moved around the unconscious body and made a move for his car, where he kept a spare Bat-suit.

"So is this all of it? Well I think we're still missing some." Joker said as he stood next to the large pile of valuables. "Where is Bruce Wayne? Is he in here?"

"He's not around, so you'll have to settle for me." Came a gruff voice. Batman dropped down from the over head window and landed right in front of the Clown Prince of Crime. While in a crouching position from landing, he sprang back up, knocking the gun out of Joker's hand. He than brought his fist into contact with Joker's jaw, sending the man to the ground.

Batman grabbed Joker by the back of his coat and hoisted him up into the air.

"You're not very good, clown."

"Oh really? Hey, smell my flower!" Batman raised an eyebrow as Joker pulled back his lapel and squeezed a fake flower that was attached to his vest. Green fumes sprayed out of it and Batman dropped Joker to the ground and began having some sort laughing conniption.

Joker attempted to grab up his loot, but Selena fired a shot at him. He dropped the would-be-stolen goods and ran for the door. Several thugs ran into the room, but Selena was able to apprehend them with out much trouble.

"Are you okay, Batm-" Selena stopped and looked around. "Did anyone see where he went?"

Everyone in the room looked around at one another.

Personal items were returned to their owners and everyone left.

Bruce was getting into his car when Selena approached him.

"Where were you during all of that?"

"I was kind of hiding under table..." He said awkwardly, looking away.

"You were hiding under table? Why?"

"I have bad past experiences with guns, and so it was kind of a subconscious action. Sorry I wasn't more help."

"That's fine. Now if you could please excuse me, I have to try and get suited up and help find this clown guy."

"Suited up?"

"You get what I mean, playboy." She briskly walked away, got into her own car and sped off.

Wayne drove back to the manor and hurried down into the Batcave.

"Alfred, did you ever finish fixing up the Birdcoop?"

"Yes sir." Alfred guided Bruce to a lower platform and switched on the lights, revealing a beat up car with a black paint job and batwing cutouts on the sides. "I give you: The Batire!"

"Don't call it that, and I'll take it."

"I liked that name, but fine, we'll call it the Batmobile."

Wayne rolled his eyes and climbed in. "Does this thing still work?"

"I have no idea, sir."

Batman pulled on his mask and switched on the ignition, almost half expecting it to blow up in his face. Thankfully, it didn't. He turned it around to face the exit and put it in full gear and sped off.

"Do be careful! It's a '67 classic!" Alfred called after him.

_/\/\_

\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/

**Yeah! Action! For the first time since the first paragraph in the first chapter! Hurray! Thanks to Darkflametailz for being my sole reviewer! No fair looking up Drury Walker on Wikipedia! Oh. Now you probably will. DARN!**


	5. The Apprehention

**Yeah! High-speed chase time!**

The 'Batmobile', as Alfred had called it, sped down the streets of Gotham, searching for the homicidal clown. Batman kept changing through frequencies, trying to get a lead.

The rain lightly drizzled down on the street, casting an eerie glow throughout the city.

"Large van painted with smeared drawings of clown related objects seen traveling down 9th and Garden at an illegal speed. Please respond." Came a voice through Batman's police tuner.

"This is Sargent Gordon. I'm on my way now. I'll check it out."

Batman turned down the volume of his Police tuner and put the Batmobile into full throttle.

* * *

Gordon pulled up along side the clown van and attempted to get it to stop. He flashed his lights and even used the roof-mounted speaker, but nothing was getting it to stop.

He pulled up along side the van and could make out the described appearance of Joker. A wide rimmed, black hat, a black trench coat and a slightly hunched posture. He thought he could see a bit of white painted skin.

The clown van stepped on the gas and sped off down the abandon street.

"This is Gordon. Target confirmed to be the Joker. Requesting backup. He just blew past me, he's going ninety-eight and heading towards Exit 19."

"This is Bullock. I'm heading down that way with five other units. Helicopter unit is standing by."

Jim floored the pedal and sped off towards the Joker.

* * *

Batman sped around the corner of 9th and Garden. He saw blue and red flashed in the distance and assumed it was Gordon. He released a burst of N20 through his engine causing the Batmobile to begin moving even faster.

* * *

Gordon was losing the Joker and they were in rout to the main freeway. He had to stop Joker before he reached that part of Gotham, or else they would never catch him with out risking lives. He reached for his dash-mike.

"This is Gordon. Where's that backup- HOLY SHEE-What the hell was that?" Gordon slammed on the breaks.

"This is Bullock. What just happened?"

"I don't know. Something just sped around me, clocked at two-eighty-six. I it looked kind of like a bat..."

"Oh crap. It's him, isn't it?" We're almost there. Just hang tight."

* * *

Joker had lost the cop. He smirked. Nothing was getting him now. He was jerked out of his line of thought when something suddenly lurched in front of him. The strange vehicle hit the breaks and he rear-ended it. He would have gone through the window should his airbag not have slammed him back against the seat. His door was opened and someone yanked him out of the car. He looked up and found himself face to face with Batman, who abruptly punched him in the nose, blacking him out.

Batman watched as Joker hit the ground and tied him up. The sound of police sirens reached his ears and he knew it was time to go. He left Joker on the wet pavement and got back into the Batmobile and sped off.

* * *

Gordon's car came to a screeching halt and he hit the ground running, expecting some action. His heart raced and his adrenalin flowed. One can only imagine his disappointment upon reaching the Joker and finding him already subdued. The Joker's hood was completely smashed in, with seemingly nothing to hit.

Bullock's car and the five promised units came to a stop behind him and Bullock got out to investigate.

"Good work, Jim. You've served your city well."

"Sir, I didn't do this."

"What?" Bullock noticed the hood of the van. He went over and examined the denting. "It looks like it hit some kind of jagged, metal cutout. Whatever it was, it obliterated it."

"It was him! He was here!" Sargent Selena said as she ran up to the other two police officers.

"Why would Batman risk his life to apprehend the Joker?" Bullock pondered.

"Like I've been telling you, Bullock," Selena said in a known-it-all voice, "Batman's on _our_ side."

Bullock shook his head. "All the same. He's still a visual anti and should be arrested on sight."

* * *

Batman pulled into the Batcave runway strip and came to a stop. He slid open the roof and jumped out, removing his mask in midair. Alfred came down the steps and stopped dead in his tracks.

He ran over to the back of the car. It had been crimpled and badly smashed.

"Wayne, what part of 'Do be careful, it's a '67 classic' was unclear to you?"

"Sorry Alfred. I must have missed that part." Wayne smirked as he went up the steps to the manor.

Joker was held over night in county prison maximum security center. The next day, he was given a sedative and placed in a heavy-duty van.

When he finally came to, he was still in the van. He couldn't see much out of the small window in the back. He peered through it. He apparently had just crossed a bridge and had gone over a large cast iron archway with the words 'mulysA mahkrA' on them. He snorted. Of course. He was reading them backwards. They clearly said 'Arkham Asylum'. It took a minute to sink in. When it did, he was worried, but soon calmed himself.

_There's no plan, Jack. Just let it flow with the GOAL. And the GOAL is CHAOS. _He laughed as he thought to himself. The Van came to a halt and the doors were swung open. Fifteen or more guards came and escorted him into the building along with several other dangerous looking people. He ended up walking alongside a man with scars covering his body.

"The name's Joker. What's going on?"

"I am Victor Zsasz. They've recently got this God forsaken pit up and running again. We're being transfered here because we're to dangerous for County."

"You call it God forsaken. What could be so bad about it?"

"Oh, Mr. Joker, It's not God forsaken yet." He looked up at where the first few criminals were being pressed through the doors. "It is now. These men are all evil. But we, we are different, me and you. I have seen you. You kill not for revenge or for plunder. Neither do I. Through my kills, I give the gift of freedom to men and women. Each one of these ten marks on my face represents someone I killed."

"How did you get caught?" Joker asked as him and Zsasz were pushed through the doors.

"Batman. Who else?"

Joker smirked. "Me and you, we've got a lot in common, Victor. I'll be seeing you around."

With that, the men were moved their separate ways.

"So you're the Joker. My name is Doctor Arkham. But, so you don't confuse me with my brother, you can call me Doctor Josephine. You'll be kept in the this maximum security cell until we can do a full psychological evaluation and you can go to court. I would like you to meet your personal psychiatrist."

A young, blond haired woman walked in and offered her hand.

"Do ya have eh name, Mista?" She asked in a thick New York accent.

"J.J. Smith."

She still smiled, even though the name was probably fake.

"How about I just call ya mista J?"

"Sound's good to me. And what can I call you?"

"My name is Harleen Quinzel."

_/\/\_

\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/

**Well, there you go. A half decent chapter with my slandered three pages. I hope you like my high-speed persuit. I based it off of what I've all seen in _Need for Speed: Most Wanted_. As always, please review so I can improve my writing. Thanks to Darkflametailz for being so faithful in reviewing :) Hypothetical Cookies! YUM!**


	6. Framed

**Once again, I have no idea were I'm going with this chapter, so I'll just figure it out as I go.**

Bullock sat behind his desk glaring daggers at Bruce.

"So, Mr. Wayne, you wanna explain why you pulled of that bank heist earlier this morning?"

"For the last time, I didn't rob anyone!" Wayne insisted.

"He's telling the truth Bullock." Gordon came in the room and tossed down pictures of Wayne and a stick with legs that Bullock assumed was a woman. "They were seen by several poparatzies going into restaurant on the complete other side of town at twelve-fort-five, more or less. The bank was robbed at twelve fifty-one. How would he get across town that fast?"

Bullock shook his head. "Than who the heck robbed the bank? Some kind of clone? The security cameras distinctly showed this man entering the bank!" He jabbed a finger at Bruce. He sat back in his chair. "I'm sorry for the trouble, Mr. Wayne. You can go, but we'll be keeping in touch with you."

"I'm working odd hours at Wayne Enterprise and have a lot of dates, so if you can't reach me at home, Alfred will redirect you to my cell."

"You want me to redirect them to your communicator?" Alfred stared at Bruce, mouth agape.

"Alfred, if they try and contact me here and I'm not available, they might get suspicious."

"I suppose you're right. Oh, and I fixed the Batmobile, so you'll be able to take it out tonight, just try to keep it in one piece."

"Uh-hu." Wayne mumbled as he put on his suit. "In the mean time, I'm going to try and investigate the bank that I robbed. Hopefully I'll be able to find something the police missed."

He climbed into the Batmobile and sped off into the night.

Batman pulled up into a alley behind the bank and got out. He shot out a grappling hook and managed to secure it to a decorative outcropping on the roof. He carefully scaled up the side of the building and reached the roof. He slid open a sky window and jumped down to the marble floor.

Gordon and Selena pulled into the same alleyway Batman had used. Gordon instantly noticed the black car. He parked the squad car and got out. He went over and examined the Batmobile.

"Man, oh man! What I'd give to drive a car like this!" He said.

Selena pressed her face up against the window. "Well, it's empty. It appears to be an automatic transmission... No, that looks like a stick... Or is that a joystick?"

"Why would he have a joystick in his car?"

"Well, it has a large red button on the top, so maybe it's to launch a missile or something." Selena guessed.

"Why would he have missiles in his car? That would be absurd."

"Wait. If his car's here, and he's not, than maybe he's inside." She went over to the door and motioned for Gordon to follow. She shifted through her pocket until she found the key to the bank that Bullock had given her. She stuck it into the lock and slowly turned it.

Batman was hunched over on the ground examining a small bit of a squishy, light brow substance. Batman took the small blob and put it into a vile with a pair of tweezers. He found more of it in the back by where the vault's door had been blown open.

He was about to go in and take a closer look when he heard the sound of a door being opened. He heard muffled voices, but wasn't able to make them out. He poked his head around a corner and saw Sergeants Gordon and Kyle. He ducked back around the corner when Gordon started heading his way.

"I think I saw something over here!"

Batman looked around frantically, trying to find somewhere to hide. He ran towards a decorative table and dropped to his knees, sliding under just as Gordon came around the corner. Batman pulled his cape around him, trying to remain hidden.

Gordon went into the vault, making large sweeps with his flashlight. The minutes his back was turned, Batman rushed out from beneath the table and around the corner. He dove beneath a desk peeked out at Kyle, who was also searching around by elimination of her flashlight. She turned her back to the desk, and Batman rushed out, heading towards the back door.

"You, stop!" Kyle had spotted him and was giving chase.

Batman continued running, but Gordon got between him and the door. The dark knight turned on his heel and made a sharp right, heading towards the open sky window. He got beneath it and fired off a grappling hook. It latched on and he began scaling up the rope. Gordon just watched, completely shocked at the man's determination.

"I've got him!" Selena threw herself at the rope and began climbing, quickly gaining on Batman.

The masked man made it to the top and rolled over onto the roof. He began running towards a gap between the bank and a shorter building. He sprang off the ledge and made it to the other side.

Selena was just behind him and jumped too, but she missed the ledge. Batman turned around and threw himself off the ledge, caught her in midair, and shot off another grappling hook, swinging them down to the ground. They landed safely and Selena fainted. Batman set her body carefully down on the ground and bolted towards the Batmobile. Just as Gordon came out of the building, Batman jumped into his vehicle and sped off. Selena was picking herself off the ground and Gordon helped her.

"Come on, Kyle, we've got to get him!"

They got into the squad car and sped out of the alleyway, heading right towards the Batmobile.

"This is Gordon! Get me back up! I'm right now in pursuit of Batman and am heading south on 12th and Steeple." He barked into his communicator.

Bullock sat behind his desk on the phone. He was waiting for Alfred to transfer him over to Wayne's cell. There was a small click, followed by Wayne's voice.

"Hello?"

"Bruce, this is Commissioner Bullock. There was just a second break in at the at the Gotham Bank. Where are you?"

"Oh, I just got a drink. I'm right now heading towards my place, I should be there in about twenty minutes."

"You aren't buzzed are you?"

"No, I waited a while and had something to eat."

"Oh, well, I thought I'd let you know that Batman was the one who broke into the bank."

"WHAT? Is that maniac involved in this?" Wayne sounded enraged.

"Can't be sure right now. We'll let you know if we come up with anything. In fact, we've got a police barricade being set up for him right now."

"Oh. What kind of barricades would you guys use on something like that car of his?" Wayne asked, genuinely curious.

"Just some police cars lined up."

"Isn't that dangerous for the cops?"

"Mr. Wayne, we're professionals and we know what we're doing. Of course we wouldn't be in the cars, now if you will please excuse me, I have a police pursuit to oversee."

"Yeah, I gotta' go too. Some crazy teenager's driving next to me. Don't you be flipping me off you little punk faced-"

Batman set his communicator back down.

So they had a rode block ready for him. He could barely make it out in the distance. He grabbed hold of a small joystick beside him.

Gordon and Kyle were gaining on the Batmobile.

"Gordon, they've got a barricade set up, watch out, we don't want to hit it."

"Yes! We've got him now!" Gordon made a 'toot-the-whistle' gesture with one hand.

Sixty feet ahead, the Batmobile was growing ever closer to the barricade, then, out of the blue, two small white objects came out from beneath the Batmobile and hit two of the police cars, sending them flying through the air and clearing a space for the Batmobile.

"He does have missiles.." Gordon mumbled, his eyes popping out of his head.

"Told you so." Was all Selena said as two police cars came crashing down on either side of them. Gordon swerved to avoid them but ended up slamming into a light post, ending their stake in the pursuit.

Wayne arrived at the Batcave safely, climbed out of the batmobile and set the vile on a metal table.

"You seemed to have had quite the party. It's all over the telly." Alfred said as he came down into the Batcave.

"Yeah, it was a blast. Did Bullock call back?" Wayne asked as he placed the vile under a microscope.

"No."

"That's interesting..."

"Why? Were you expecting him to call back?"

"No, I mean this sample. It _was _some kind of squishy blob back at the bank. Now it's... Scar tissue."

A well built man walked into the office of Drury Walker. His face was heavily disfigured and burned from a car accident.

"You said you had more?"

"Why, yes. Did you get the money?"

"Yeah, I did." He set a large suitcase down on the desk. "Now where's my ointment."

"That's what I like about you, Matt Hagen! Always right to the point. Here's a jar of ten ounces of renu-yu. This should keep you happy for a while."

"Thanks. What do you want from me for it?"

"There's someone I need you to impersonate. By doing so, you will root out an old foe of mine. You wont need to do any fighting, just to intimidate."

"Sure. Just so as long as I get more."

"Very well. You will be posing as a middle aged gentleman named Jason Todd. This folder contains photos and a description of him." He slid the folder across the table. " I know you can do this. For you, any job is easy with your face of clay."

**I thought about maybe making this chapter longer, but I guess I'll end it here. Hope you enjoyed it.**

**DFT: Don't you dare look him up on Wikipedia, you cheater! Cheaters are losers :P**

**All you peoples who read this and wont review: You losers!**

**What do you want me to call you? Winners?**


	7. Masquerade, Part 1

**Yeah! New chapter! Woohoo! Thanks to DFT and Tucker Bridges for reviewing. You guys are really helping to keep this story going :)**

"Three thugs were attacked and arrested this evening." The overly cheerful, plastic-like news reporter said with a fake smile that just made you want to cry. "We have these pictures of the attacker, apparently a vigilante looking to do good." A small box containing the mans photo appeared on screen before disappearing. "In other news, crime rates once again soar as..." Wayne set the Batcave's TV (one of many) to mute.

"Wayne, can you rewind that?" Alfred asked coming over from where he'd been putting the finishing touches on a batarang.

"Sure, where to?"

"That mans photo. Can you zoom in a bit?"

Wayne rewound it and cycled through frames until he found one that was clear enough. He zoomed in a bit, doubling the size of the image.

"My God..." Alfred whispered.

"You know him?" Wayne asked.

"He's – or at least looks like – my old apprentice, Jason Todd. Jason was a good man. He fought along side me during the seventies, back when I was still Birdman. He was my sidekick, Robin, that is, until he was captured in a trap by my old archenemy: Killer Moth."

"Doesn't sound like to intimidating of a villain." Wayne observed.

"In appearance, no. In actions, most definitely. He captured me and held me at gun point and forced me to watch from afar as Robin was lured into an old, abandon warehouse. Once Jason was inside, he set off a detonator, me only being able to watch, helplessly."

"And that's when you stopped being Birdman?"

"Yes." Alfred said, his eyes full of regret. "I tried to run from the pain of losing Jason by going to live with my father in England. He took ill and died, telling me that his biggest regret in life was failing to carry on the family tradition of serving the Waynes. He asked me to come here and work for your parents, but my service was short lived, though I probably don't need to go into detail about that."

Bruce nodded.

"The worst part about all of it was that, in my horror, I ran down to search through the rubble, trying to find the closest thing I had ever had to a son. But, in doing so, I let Killer Moth get away. No one has ever heard from him since."

"And now Jason is seemingly back from the dead." Wayne said, returning his gaze to the screen.

"Yes, though I wonder if this doesn't have some connection back to Killer Moth... Wayne, I need to be alone for a bit..." Alfred quickly left for the staircase leading to the mansion.

* * *

Matt Hagen burst into his dressing room and dug through his drawers until he found his container of Renu-yu. He quickly smeared some on his face and than touched it up a bit, literally reshaping it's structure until it looked like it had before his car accident.

"Matt!" It was his assistant Ricardo. He tapped on the door a few times before stepping in. "You're using more of that stuff?" He sighed, eying the plain white container. "Anyways, you're on in five, and you don't want to be late."

"I know. Thanks." Matt quickly put away the jar, straightened out his suit the mirror and left his dressing room.

Summer Gleeson looked as stunning as ever. From her perfect, conditioned, reconditioned, curled, brunet hair to her pressed, dark green outfit, and finally her flawless makeup job, she was a knockout. She sat in her little beige chair, smiling at the camera as they adjusted the lights.

"Where is that Mr. Hagen." She smiled as wide as ever. She glanced around her. She was positioned in a large studio in front of a giant wall, made to look like a New York office room. Matt Hagen finally came in and sat down.

"And you're ready to shoot?" She asked, her eyes burning a bright green color.

"Yeah," Hagen said. "I think we've gone over this enough times."

"I'm just going to ask a few more questions, and you try and answer them as truthfully as possible, okay?"

"Sure." He clearly wasn't nearly as overjoyed about life and existence as she was. He was to busy worrying about his Renu-Yu was going to ware off before he got his next break.

"Very well than. You ready, Steve?"

The director motioned with his hands and they started the camera.

"Hi! Welcome to Gotham Living with me, Summer Gleeson. Today we've got world-renowned actor Matt Hagen on the show."

The camera panned over to Matt who smiled and waved.

"Well, Matt, five months ago you were in severe car accident, and yet, here you are today, perfectly fine with out any scars. Care to explain?"

"Well, I can't go into great detail, but, I'm using an experimental product produced by Gothcorp. that could revolutionize the cosmetic and plastic surgery industries. Imagen, a simple cream that could help you get the face you've always wanted."

"Wow. Any chance we'll be seeing this in the near future?"

"Gothcorp is right now putting the finishing touches on the product, and then they're going to release it to the public."

"Now about those rumors of you staring in the next Terminator..."

* * *

Matt entered his dressing room and applied some more Renu-Yu. He looked into the jar.

"Six weeks my eye..." He murmured. "I'm going through this stuff faster and faster... Something ain't right..."

He placed the nearly empty jar into a suitcase along with some clothes and than quickly left the building.

* * *

"Hagen, I saw you on TV. Good introduction of our product." Drury Walker grinned as the actor entered his office.

"Save it, Walker, I see right through your businessman sherade. Now what do you want me to do for the next jar?"

"More Jason Todd. Here, I want you to go to this address. I have reason to believe that their will be a drug drop off there." He handed Matt a white folder.

"This next batch had better be bigger."

"Of course."

* * *

It had been almost a week since Jason Todd had first appeared. Alfred came down into the Batcave, a small washcloth in hand.

"Alfred, come look at this."

The elder came over and looked at the screen.

"These are the places Jason Todd has been seen at. There are seven in all. Do you happen to notice any similarities?"

"Could it?... Wayne, these were some of the last places me and Robin fought crime at before the end of my career." Alfred explained.

"_Some _of the places? Are there more?"

"Just one last one. Jason's final resting place. Wayne, you have to get there tonight."

"Don't worry Alfred. I'll get there as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Bruce. I've attached a camera piece in your mask. I'll be able to see everything you see."

"Good. We'll need it."

Bruce stood up from his seat and went over to the Batmobile. He climbed in and buckled up. The hood closed over him and he sped off into the night.

**I know, it took me forever to write this, and I then I needed to find a chance to post it, and so it took me a while. Sorry, peoples :)**

**Yeah! I now have _2 _people reviewing regularly. You guys rock!**


	8. Masquerade, Part 2

**Darkflametailz, Brian Tucker and Mrs. Flash, you guys rock! Thanks for all the support. I just want to say that I'm having a bit of trouble with planning out this chapter because, while I do like the way it's based of Clayface's origins in BtAS, I don't want to make it too much like it simply because I want to have some originality. Anyways, thanks again :)**

Batman was squatted down on a corner of a roof, his feet nearly sticking over the edge, spying on a large heap of rubble. He had a pair of binoculars in his hands and was constantly putting them up to his eyes to look at some random person walking down the street on the far side of the abandon complex. He could smell the ocean that was a few blocks away and was beginning to become quite cold from the night chill.

"Alfred, are you sure that he's going- wait. I see him. He's right now unlocking the fence that surrounds the place."

"I'm right now patching into your camera system. And... I'm on." Came Alfred's reply.

Batman began creeping along the edge of the building, following Jason Todd. Jason slid open one of the garage-type doors on one of the few buildings that remained standing.

"He's up to something. But what?..." Batman dropped down to the ground shortly after Jason had went inside. He darted through the doorway and into the shadows.

Jason went over to the far side and began digging among the rubble until he found a large safe box. He strapped to small detonators to it before running to the other side of the room just and they went off.

* * *

Gordon slowed his police cruiser down to a halt in front of the old factory complex. There was a sudden flash of light followed by a small curl of smoke.

"This is Gordon. Some one just set off a bomb in the factory complex at 19th and Western. I'm right now going into to investigate. Over."

"This is Bullock. I've got your message. Alerting units in the area to be ready. Over."

Gordon quickly got out of his car and managed to hop the fence. He raced over to the other end. He pulled his pistol out of its holster and held it at ready as he approached the building.

* * *

Jason reached into the safe box and pulled out a handful of jewelry.

Alfred's voice sounded into Batman's ear. "There used to be a gang that hid out in here before the complex was destroyed. Though why would Jason want to stealing them? I think you should act now. Police have already been sending calls out. Sargent Gordon is just outside."

"I always seemed to think you were a hero." Batman said, stepping out the shadows and into the light.

Jason turned around, his face a mask of shock. He broke into a run towards the door, but Batman was faster. He dashed in front of him, blocking his path. Jason attempted to hit Batman, but the Dark Knight was still faster. He blocked the punch with one forearm and than lent a swift punch to the attacker's face.

"I don't want to hurt you, Jas- My God... What are you?" Batman backed away in horror.

Jason stood up. The place where Batman's fist had collided with the side of his head was dented in, creating a perfect indentation of his knuckles that was at least a fourth of an inch thick. Jason quickly smoothed it over with one hand and ran around Batman, who was still stupefied.

"Bruce, get a hold of yourself!" Came Alfred's voice. "You've got to catch him! If he can do that to his face, than he could be anyone."

Batman turned around and began running in pursuit of the Not-Jason.

The garage door slid back open and a figure began running towards Gordon. He lifted his gun up into place. "Halt!" He barked.

The Not-Jason swung his fist, knocking the gun away from him. Gordon seized his arm and attempted to force him to the ground. He finally took his gun and knocked the man in the temple with the handle, trying to knock him out. The gun sunk in a few centimeters. Gordon quickly leaped back in shock, falling over backwards. Not-Jason pulled the gun out of his skull and smoothed over the side of his head. He than continued running.

Gordon scampered to his feet and activated his walky-talky. "This is Gordon. We have at least one suspect on the run. He's wearing a gray suit with a black leather trench coat."

"Facial features?" Bullock's voice came over the speaker.

"Uh, Clay. His face I think was made out of clay, or something like it."

There was a long pause. "You said his face was made out of clay?"

"Yes sir. I know this sounds weird, but my gun sunk into his head. He just pulled it back out and smoothed it over. That's about as close to a clay like consistency as you can get."

"We'll try and get someone on it as fast as we can."

* * *

Matt Hagen through himself against an alley wall. He dropped of the trench coat and ruffled his hair. He reshaped his face to be more wrinkled and much older looking. He left the alleyway and began walking down the street. A cop car of two passed him by, both ignoring him.

* * *

"Only Batman would face you? I thought for sure that you would root out my old enemy. Hmm..."

"So do I get more Renu-yu or not?" Hagan asked, becoming slightly testy. I wanted more. He needed more.

"Fine." He tossed Matt a jar. "Don't use it all in one place."

* * *

"So, we know that it wasn't Jason Todd." Batman stated. "It was also probably who ever it was that impersonated me while breaking into the Gotham First Bank."

"I haven't thought of that." Said Alfred, stroking his chin. "I wonder what kind of treatment would create such affects?"

"I'll try and research what I can on the Internet. There doesn't seem to be any other leads to go off of."

"Good luck with that. I'll check the local news papers as well as keep an eye on the telly. They might catch that man."

* * *

It had been two days since Matt had impersonated Jason last. He had run out of Renu-Yu and quckly headed for Gothcorp for more.

Upon reaching the large, expansive building, he was handed a small envelope by one of the security guards.

He tore it op and was infuriated at what he read.

_Matt Hagen; _

_You're usefulness had ran out and out deal will be terminated immediately._

_As far as the general public is concerned. It never happened. You tested it a few times and we agreed that the product was safe. They are never to know how strong the product can be when applied in large doses and they are never to know any bad side affects that you may have failed to tell us._

_Do not attempt to get more, but smooth talking or theft. The later will result in severe punishment._

_ -Drury Walker_

Matt crumpled the letter in his hand and shoved it in his pocket.

"God damn you, Walker!" He cursed, venting his anger. From a large window on the top floor, he could have sworn that he make out the figure of Drury Walker smiling down at him, waving casually.

* * *

"This isn't fair! How could he just fire me?" Matt said angrily as he sat in front of his TV, cycling through stations.

"What you were doing was illegal, Matt." said Ricardo, his assistant, roommate and long time friend.

Matt set down the remote. "I—I know. I didn't want to do any of that stuff, but I had to! My career, heck, your career even. And that stuff was so addictive! I always need more, and in higher doses. And now he's gone off and fired me. I'll never get anymore Renu-Yu now!"

"Can't you just wait until it goes on sale?"

"And when will that be? A month? Two? Six? A year? Who knows. I just need more, and now!"

"Matt, don't do anything you'll regret."

"I won't, I promise."

* * *

It was dark outside when Matt Hagen pulled up in front of Gothcorp Laboratories. He climbed out of his car and moved towards the main building. He had used what little cream he had left to reshape his face to look like Walker's.

He easily got past the security guards and silently moved in towards the room where they were producing the Renu-Yu.

It didn't take long to find it, since the majority of the factory was working on it.

He slipped into a back room in search of a finished product.

_Jackpot! _He thought as he picked up a large container of the putty-colored cream. He put it under his arm and started walking towards the door. He stopped dead in his tracks as Drury Walker walked in.

"Ah, I see I have a rat in my building. Boy?"

Two security guards came up behind the actor and locked his arms behind his back.

"Now, since I would hate to get rid of a perfectly good rat, I'll use it for what my company does with all rats: Test subjects."

Matt struggled against his captors, but he was unable to break free.

Drury set down a suit case he had been carrying and opened it up. Inside were several surgical needles. He held it up, revealing that there was a orangish liquid inside.

"What you see right here is the ingredients of Renu-Yu in there most concentrated, non-diluted form. We also didn't include the compound that causes Renu-Yu to wear off. Oh, does that upset you? Renu-Yu would last forever, but where's the profit in that?"

"You can't put that stuff in me, Drury!"

"Oh, but I can, and I will. What's to stop me?"

He tore of a portion of Hagen's shirt sleeve on either arm and injected two of the needles. He then tore a small hole in the back of either knee of his pants and inserted injected Renu-Yu there too. Finally, he poked – or rather stabbed – the needle into Hagen's pulse, just above the neck line.

Hagen whimpered and gasped as he felt the serum taking effect. He was going to die and he knew it.

He collapsed on the ground and the two security guards dragged him out of the building and threw him into his car.

"Call me when you get results!" Drury's voice echoed in Matt's head before he passed out from the pain.

* * *

The two security guards drove Matt to his house and dropped him off on the door step. They knocked before making a hasty get away, attempting to find a taxi.

Ricardo opened the door and was shocked to say the least when he saw Matt. He quickly helped his friend back into the house and laid him down on his bed. When he set him down, he noticed that body had indentations from his arms.

"Oh, God, Matt... What did they do to you?"

**So, yeah. That was my brilliant idea of where to end this. Thank again to everyone who reviewed or even at least read this. Rock on ;)**

**Ps. DFT, I'm not reviewing or messaging you. Not because I'm upset with you in anyway, but simply because my parents think that me messaging people online is dangerous. They think your probably a creepy, forty year old guy. Yeah, my parents are losers.**


	9. Masquerade, part 3

"You said you had found something, Bruce?" Alfred asked as he came down into the Batcave.

"Yeah. Look at this report."

"The Gotham Living website? Now you're not just _in _the tabloids, you're _reading _them."

"We you just read it already?"

"Very well..." Alfred placed on a small pair of reading glasses and looked the screen over. "So this Matt Hagen fellow said that Gothcorp had developed the product to reshape one's face."

"It might be something."

"So you plan to break into Gothcorp?"

"I don't think I have much other choice."

"I just wonder where Mr. Hagen is now?"

* * *

Matt slammed his fist angrily against a wall as he wobbled his way to the table.

"Matt! You're in no condition to be walking!" Ricardo insisted. "Just let me call an ambulance..."

"No! No ambulances! No hospitals! I can't risk the press learning about any of this, let alone the cops. I'll be put in prison!"

"But you might die if you remain in this form!"

Hagen looked at himself. He was now little more than a large blob of clay, shaped to resemble the general shape of a man, but much bulkier.

"And what am I to do about it? What would a hospital be able to do about it. All those stupid doctors..."

"Uh... Matt?"

"What? I'm ranting! What do you need?"

"You changed..."

"What? I-" Matt looked down at himself. He quickly raised to a mirror. He appeared to be an entirely human doctor. He had the teal colored clothing, the white gloves, the surgeon's mask and even a unique face.

"Matt, change into someone else!" Ricardo said excitedly.

Matt closed his eyes and focused. He changed into Summer Gleeson, than a random cop, and than Drury Walker.

He smiled at his reflection. "Injecting that stuff into me must have given me the ability to change my outward appearance."

"Matt, maybe your career isn't over! Maybe this is just the beginning! This could be the start of something brand new!"

A portion of Matt's hand turned back into clay. He tried to force it back into how he wanted it to be, but soon his entire body returned to it's grotesque form.

"It's too hard to keep it like that. It takes to much focus, almost like tensing a muscle. What would happen if I lost control on a set, or in an awards ceremony?"

"Yeah, I see your point. But, maybe, also like a muscle, it can be strengthened. Maybe if you work at it you can hold a form for longer."

"Maybe, but for now, I don't know what to do." The mutated actor sat down in his chair and flipped on the TV. It was a rerun of the episode of Gotham Living that he had been a guest on. Ricardo watched as Hagen's deformed face looked on, full of longing. It went to a commercial break.

"Next week on Gotham Living," Came the female announcers voice, "Drury Walker, president and owner of Gothcorp will give a live demonstration about their brand new Renu-Yu product."

Matt sat up so fast that he knocked his armchair over.

"I've got to get in their! This stuff is far to dangerous!"

* * *

Batman silently entered into Drury Walker's office, being very sure as not to trip any alarms. He sat down behind his desk and inserted a small, black device into the USB port.

"Alright, you're in."

"Very good." Came Alfred's voice. "Okay, I've hacked the password and all other security features. You should now be able to log on."

"Okay, it worked. Now let's see..." Wayne typed away at the keyboard, bringing up multiple pages of browser history and a plethora of other information. "He received several E-Mails from Matt Hagen about the Renu-Yu... Seems that he was doing some 'special jobs' for Walker; though he was 'permanently taken care of'. Here's also a hidden encryption key..."

"What is it for?" Alfred asked.

"I don't know. See if you can hack it."

There was a pause. "I can't fully break it. But I have been able to pull up some fragments of messages he's sent through it. It would seem as though he's got contacts in low places... My God, he's at league with Rupert Falcone and the Gotham Moffia!"

"Quick! Get that information downloaded. The police have got to see that!"

"Alright. I- No. No!"

"What's wrong?"

"I've been locked out. I can't hack any further. What about your end?"

Batman hit a few keys. "Nothings working. I've been locked too."

"You know too much, Batman."

The Dark Knight looked up and saw Drury Walker stepping out of the shadows.

"You keep interesting company, Walker."

"And? Where's your proof? You can't testify against me in court. Not like you or Alfred would actually be willing to appear before a judge."

Batman's eyes widened in horror. "What!"

"The greatest achievement of my life time, or at least, one of them, was deducing the identity of Birdman. You see, me and Al go way back..."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Batman said coldly.

"Don't think for even a second you can trick me, Batman. Now, why don't you tell that old geezer to _COME OUT AND FACE ME ALREADY_!"

"Not likely." Batman said, jumping up on the desk and preparing to throw himself at Walker. He stopped, realizing that the man had a gun aimed at him.

"Face it Batman. You can't stop me. You think you're the hero and that you can bring justice to the whole world, but the extent of your power stops at street thugs and the criminally insane. People like me are to powerful. You would have to appear before a jury, but since you're a wanted man yourself, you're helpless."

Batman quickly threw a Batarang at Drury's hand, knocking away the pistol.

"I will get you. One of these day's Drury Walker, I will get you." With that, he turned around and threw himself out of the large, glass window. It easily shattered against his weight and he caught the side of a near by building with a grappling hook. He swung off into the night, leaving Walker behind.

* * *

"So what now?" Bruce asked, putting away his suit.

"First off, don't let Drury get to you. He's lying. One day, we will be able to bring him and the moffia down... Though, I am quite alarmed to find out that someone knows my identity."

"You mean you didn't know?"

"Not at all. I was unaware of it until now. It's quite unsettling."

"Any idea of who it could be?"

"Any number of villains I put away, and than there's every thug I busted, and pretty much everyone else in the world. On a different note, I found our next lead."

"Which is?"

"On Monday, Walker will be appearing on Gotham City Today to introduce his Renu-Yu product."

"Oh, Alfred. You're reading the Tabloids now? I don't need you knowing about all my dirty laundry."

"Believe me, Wayne, I already know more about your dirty laundry then I could ever need. Which reminds me, I need the change out the load..." Alfred quickly left to attend to his duties as a butler.

* * *

Summer Gleeson had the break of her life. She was going to introduce the newest deaging cream, and it was going to happen in approximately thirty seconds. She straitened her shirt and brushed a loose strand of hair back behind her ear.

The music played and the camera zoomed in as she stepped through her little, fake front door and into her false office building.

"Hello Gotham, and welcome to another day of Gotham City Today!"

Everyone cheered and went wild.

She continued. "Today, we have Drury Walker attending to introduce Gothcorps. break through product, Renu-Yu.

Batman perched up in the rafters, silently watching Walker as he stepped inside.

"So, Walker, tell me about the product." Gleeson said after he had sat down at his own little chair.

"Well, with a small amount of Renu-Yu, you'll literally be able to reshape your face as though it were Clay."

"Is that dangerous?" Summer asked.

"If you don't exceed the half-teaspoon amount on one particular region of your face, it should be perfectly safe."

"Oh," Summer Gleeson exclaimed. "It looks like we've got a question from an audience member. Yes?"

An old lady had stood up in the back. "Safe? What about the fact that Renu-Yu has added substance to increase it's addictive factor, causing a drug like need for it."

"That's—Er... Where-"

"What about the fact that it could last forever, but you applied chemicals to give it a shorter effect."

"Where did you hear all of this?"

"Oh, I'm just your favorite_ test subject_!" With that, the old lady reshaped into Matt Hagen's mutated form.

People shrieked and began fleeing the building.

"Do you see what you've made me into, Walker? I'm a freak! Doomed to rejection!"

Walker slowly stood up. "Cut the camera!" He hissed. "Listen, sir, you have clearly been driven mad by something entirely different than my product, and in your small amount of sanity, you've decided that Renu-Yu must be the source of your problems..."

"You can't run from this one, Walker. Your masquerade is over... _as is your __**LIFE**_."

"Don't do it, Hagen!" Batman dropped down between Matt and Drury.

"Matt Hagen is no more! He was killed by that fool behind you, Batman! I'm now Clayface and I demand vengeance!" He rushed forward. Batman pulled out two explosives and threw them into his opponent's chest. The result was Clayface splattering backwards against the floor.

Summer Gleeson – who as hiding behind an armchair – squealed in horror.

"It'll take more than that to stop me!" the self-christened Clayface's voice was gurgled as he reformed himself. Batman back away in shock, but caught sight of Drury running towards the door. Clayface followed the Dark Knight's gaze. He swung one arm, knocking Batman away, and than shot out his other one, grabbing Drury by the shoulder. He swung hard, throwing him into a support beam.

He shaped one hand into a mallet and than shot it towards Drury, knocking the man in the stomach.

He brought up the elongated arm, ready to swing it down, crushing the graying man.

Batman quickly got between the two of them. "Wait! What will killing him do? You'll be just as low as he is!"

Summer Gleeson silently came out of her hiding place and put one hand on Clayface's arm.

"Hagen, I know you're in there. You were always playing the hero in all of your roles. Now, you have a chance to _be_ the hero_._ Do you want vengeance, or do you want justice?"

"I—I want justice..." He retracted his other arm and turned it's end back into a hand.

"Fool!" Drury sneered as he reached into his coat, pulling out a small gun of sorts with a long surgion's needle in it. He shot it at Clayface as it pierced into him. He stumbled backwards and fell over a small studio table.

"What the Hell did you do to him?" Batman said, hoisting him off the ground.

"Oh, nothing. That was just a little antidote I had developed for encase one of my workers – or especially me – should fall into one of the vats of Renu-Yu. But, since he essentially _is _Renu-Yu, he's likely to just die." Bruce swung his fist hard, knocking Drury to the ground.

He rushed over to Clayface's side. He was already contracting into a much smaller form.

"Do you have any idea what they would pay for a death this realistic?" He asked before collapsing on the ground.

"Walker's gone." Batman looked up at Summer and than turned his gaze to survey the room. She was right.

"We couldn't have done anything anyways. You mustn't tell anyone of what happened here, Ms. Gleeson."

"I had a man killed on my set! How am I to just ignore it?"

"Walker is a powerful and corrupt man. He'll easily have you killed if you say anything. We can't face Gothcorp.'s lawyers in court because you don't have that kind of money and I can't appear before them because I'm wanted myself."

Summer eyed him suspiciously. "So money wouldn't be a factor for you?"

Batman realized his mistake. "I-"

He was cut off by the police bursting into the studio.

"Oh, Ms. Gleeson. Are you okay?" An officer, she believed his name was Gordon, raised over to her.

She thought it strange that he would ignore Batman, but she realized that he was already gone.

_So are you rich or are you a lawyer Mr. Batman?_ She thought.

* * *

"So the monster that was caught on tape is dead." Bullock said, reviewing the material. He, Jim and Selina were all in his office.

"No." Bullock, Gordon and Selina all looked up and saw Batman standing in the window.

"He called himself Clayface, and no, he isn't dead. He's still out there somewhere. He used to be the actor Matt Hagen, but before he died he told me and Ms. Summer 'Do you know what they would pay for a death this realistic?'. He faked his own death. What was taken to the morgue is likely to be little more than a hollow shell. He has already proven to be able to survive separation from the rest of his body, and perhaps, retain control of both haves."

"Any idea were he could be?" Gordon asked. He was surprised at how casual he felt around the masked figure.

"I spoke with his former roommate and friend, Ricardo Gracia. He said that four days ago, when he first mutated, Matt could barely stand. Soon after, he could hold an appearance for little more than a few minutes. Before he left this morning, he could stay in one form for hours, perhaps even days. Right now, he could be anyone, anywhere."

"Kind of like you, huh?" Selina asked.

"Except he has any number of identities. I only have two."

"And the other one is?" Bullock asked, buying time, reaching for a tranquilizer gun he had under his desk.

"You'll have to guess that for yourselves."

With that, Batman fell over backwards, dropping out of view. Bullock raised over to the window, followed by Gordon and Kyle, but the Dark Knight was gone, disappeared into the night.

"You promised me a super soldier. Now where is it?" The small print flashed across the screen.

Walker typed away at his keyboard. "Thing's didn't go as well as I planned. I apologize."

"Our operations must not be shut down. Luckily for you, your past experience with Batman predecessor makes you too valuable an asset to be terminated. We will keep you on fire a while longer, provided that you can supply us a new soldier."

"Don't worry. I'll find something. Walker Signing off."

"It had better be good. Falcone signing off."

Walker turned off his computer screen and sat back in his chair. He picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Yes, Iceberg Lounge? Could you please connect me with management.

"You'll need security clearance to contact him." Came a voice on the other line. "What's the password?"

"Penguin."

"I'll reroute you now, sir."

**Okay, so that was probably my longest chapter yet. Five pages on size 12 font! OH YEAH! I've recently forged a new love for this story. I really feel that I'm finally moving it in the right direction, but I'm also encouraged by more reviews. So, I you want more chapters, you'll need to write more reviews. Sounds fair enough? There'll be a break for Walker for a little while, so just hang tight. He'll be back, as will Clayface.**


	10. The Cat with Two Lives, part 1

**I thought I knew what I was doing when I first decided to make this chapter, but now I'm not so sure... Anyways, just bare with me here as I try and figure this thing out. Special thanks to Mrs. Flash for the wonderful review. It means a lot to me.**

"Dawson failed." Gordon said as he stepped into Commissioner Bullock's office.

Bullock swore profusely under his breath. "That's the third time we've tried to get some one in there!"

It had been a week and a half since Clayface's disappearance and a new gang had been on the rise. Most of the members had been employed at a private club called the Iceberg Lounge, there for making it's owner a prime suspect. The problem was that most people didn't know the owner's name, but only that he was an odd man. They had so far tried to get two detectives and one private investigator inside, the later being the most recent.

"Face it, he's not going to fall for it." Selena commented from behind her desk. "Who ever this guy is, he's very careful, and by now, he's expecting us. All three of our undercover men were kicked out for being too nosy."

"Selena's right, Bullock." Gordon nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "We're going to need to find a way to gain their trust before we can begin getting information."

Bullock ran his fingers through what very little amount of hair he still had. "I guess you're right. You two should probably go home for the night, think it over. I'll close up here."

Gordon glanced at the clock. "Yeah, it's after one. My wife is going to start worrying if I don't hurry home."

* * *

Selena stepped into her apartment and flipped on the lights. She went into her room and changed clothes. She came back out in a short nightgown and sat down at her small office desk. Her two cats came up ran their sleek bodies along her legs.

"I know, you two. I've just been so mixed up in my work... And my hobby..." She switched on her computer and opened her file cabinet on her desk. She began shifting through newspaper clippings and photos. All of them were of Batman and supposed sightings. Some had proven to be hoaxes, some proved to be in-depth encounters. She opened a file on her computer and began cycling through numerous images and videos of Batman. None were terribly good, but with photo shop she was able to clarify them and remove some of the blur from the photographer's shaking. She also had to fix the resolution on most of them since almost all of them had been taken with a cellphone. She went into her E-Mail and found that she had a new video from Google Alerts. She opened it up and studied the footage of Batman fighting a group of thugs. The person had apparently been hiding in their car when they took it.

He was amazing. He had so much power in every swing, and yet he had such grace and dexterity. He easily dodged everything they threw at him and bullets easily bounced of his black armor. She closed the screen and went over to a large walk in closet. She pulled out a large trunk and sifted through it's contents. Batarangs, shards of explosives, grappling hooks and wires. She even had a whole, unused detonator. All of it was modeled after his insignia. She placed the box back into it's hiding place and sat down in a large arm chair. She pulled up the footrest and leaned back, her two cats jumping up in her lap.

_I wonder if he likes bats the same way I like cats... _She thought. _That would be strange. Catman... _she halfway drifted into sleep when her eyes suddenly snapped open.

"That it!" She cried, hugging her cat's closely. "Catwoman!"

* * *

"I say we just bust the doors open and barge into the place!" Bullock said, frustrated.

"Be reasonable, Bullock." Gordon said. "The Iceberg Lounge is in the heart of the Narrows. We would need bullet proof armor to just drive through there."

Bullock slammed his fist on his desk. "And that's why I know they're up to something suspicious! How can a high class, private club with some of the richest people in Gotham as members, exist in such a low, filthily slum and not get ripped off daily?"

"Sir!" An officer burst into the office room. "We've got word that there was just a break in at the Gotham Art Museum. Someone has stolen the Picasso that was on loan!"

* * *

The security guard in the lobby stood ramrod strait. "You'll need an appointment and/or a membership in order to enter."

A thin figure in a large trench coat stepped in. She was wearing a wide brimmed hat and carrying an absurdly large purse.

"Listen, sir." She said in the most sensuous voice she could muster. "I know this place enjoys some of the... the _finer_ things in life."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said.

"Oh, too bad." She frowned. "I was sure that you're boss would love _this_." She pulled out the stolen Picasso from her purse.

"I- One moment." He pressed his fingers against his ear bud. To be honest, it made him look a bit like Secret Service. "Enter through the doors behind me. In the back of the dinning room is an elevator. Insert this pass card," He handed her a thin, plastic strip, "And go to the top floor. Don't stop to talk to anyone on your way there."

"Fine by me, handsome."

She proceeded through the gold framed, solid oak doors and into the dining room area. It was as far as any of their detectives had ever got. It had fancy Persian rugs and all the windowsills were framed in gold. In fact, it seemed as though anything that could be made out of gold was. And what wasn't gold was either ceder or else glass. She walked all the way to the end and inserted her pass card into the gold slot and watched as the gold doors slid open. She stepped in and hit the gold button and glanced around the spacious lift. Gold handle bar. Gold buttons with a gold frame. Gold domes for the dome lights above, and the marble tiles had gold inlays.

_There is probably more cash value in here than there is in my entire apartment, office and both cars combined. _She thought. She reached the top floor and a small bell – which she assumed must be gold – chimed.

She stepped into the large office. It was a fair amount of open space on the sides of the room, which were lined with modern art pieces. There was a long desk in the middle of the room, and behind it was a high backed swivle chair. Whoever the owner was, she couldn't see him. All she could make out was a black, squarish thing sticking above the chair, presumably a top hat. She could only assume that the man beneath it was the owner.

"What do you call yourself?" He asked, his voice having an obnoxious nasally ring that made her think of a male version of Fran Deshner.

"I call myself Catwoman." Selena removed the hat, revealing a Batman-like mask, but with broader ears and wider eye holes.

"Any connection with Batman?" He asked.

"Maybe, though me secrets are my own."

"It takes guts and brains to steal something that valuable, both of which are qualities I like to see in my employees."

"Employees?"

"All this money doesn't just come from standard revenue. I have several freelance thieves working for me; though, I wouldn't use the term 'thief' for you. No, I think something more along the lines of 'performance criminal' would work better."

"What would it pay to work for you?"

"Free membership. Access to all of my records and 'wanted' items. And, if you prove your metal, you just might be given exclusive membership to a crime ring, one of which controls almost all of the crime in Gotham, Metropolis, Jump City, and dozens of other locations around the world. Are you interested?"

"When do I start?" Was all Selena said.

"I knew you would agree. Just set that painting over there on the coffee table and I'll have a guard come and get it. If you want full access to my cooperation, you'll need to steal something else for me. There is an armor suit from feudal Japan that is owned by a private collector. I want it for my personal use."

"Who's the owner?"

"A young billionaire named Bruce Wayne."

"One last thing," Selena said, eying the chair suspiciously. "Who is it that I'm working for? What do you call yourself?"

He chuckled a bit. "A name can say a lot about a person. In the restaurant business, it doesn't say a whole lot when your waiter says their name, but in other businesses – especially this one – It can say a dangerous amount, and so it is best to remain anonymous. But if you must call me something, call me Penguin."

**Okay, so that went pretty well. It took a lot longer because I got caught up in working on my Phenomenal X-Men story and couldn't decide rather or not to show Penguin's face. I know, details, details, but it was a hard decision. I've got quite a lot planned for Catwoman, and like Clayface, should have a three part story arch, though she'll be reacurring a lot. Oh, and I swear, I came up with her back story like two days before I saw the Red-X story line in Teen Titans. So, yeah. I'm not imitating anything here. On one more side note, would anyone like to see a Metropolis: Dark Age story? Go ahead and discuss it in the comments :)**


	11. The Cat with Two Lives, part 2

**Yeah! New chapter! Oh yeah!**

_What a weird thing to call himself... _Selena thought as she perched on the fence post of the gate surrounding Wayne Manor. She was wearing her cat like mask, along with a black, bussinuss suit type top with a too-small miniskirt, tall, black leather gloves and boots that's went went up to her knees and fishnet pantyhose. She gracefully leaped down, landing in the grass with a thud.

_Thank God mother made me enroll in gymnastics _She said to herself. She raced across the expansive – and expensive – grounds, headed towards the manor. She reached it and picked the lock on window, easily slipping in. She carefully stepped down to the floor, assuming that no alarm must have been sounded.

"Guess no ones home..." She said to herself.

"Guess again!" Came an older voice with a British ring. She threw herself forwards as – of all things – a serving tray came flying over head, stabbing into the windowsill. She looked up and saw the butler charging her, his fist raised to strike.

_Well this is unexpected... _She through herself over Alfred's head, landing behind him. "Doesn't Wayne keep body guards like everyone else?" She asked.

"Enough, intruder!You will leave my master's estate at once!" He attempted to round house kick her, though his foot came inches short.

She bursts through the kitchen doors and headed up a flight of stairs. Alfred grabbed up several dinner plates and began throwing them like Frisbees at her. Some missed her head by centimeters.

"You've got some aim, old man! Where'd you pick that up at?"

"I won't ask you again! Leave or else I'll summon the police!"

"Ooh! I'm scared now!" She teased. She went through another door. It was the gallery, and in the middle was the armor she wanted.

_How am I going to get that off of the manikin and into my bag when I've got Jet Li's grandpa chasing me?_

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Bruce Wayne appeared in front of her and made a kick at her jaw.

She was knocked back several feet, but used the momentum to swing around, catching Alfred unaware. Her fist collided with the elderly man's temple, sending him to the ground with a thud.

Bruce kicked and punched, but Selena still evaded. She quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out a smoke bomb, knocking Bruce unconscious. She didn't have to much trouble getting the armor off of the manikin and getting it into two large bags.

She rushed back through the house, headed towards the window. Something glinted and caught her eye. She stopped and looked up at a large, gold and glass chandelier that was over head. Hanging from it were two small, brown bats. They hissed and unfolded their wings, swooping down at her. She panicked and dashed through the house, finally throwing herself through the window and slamming it shut behind her. The two bats alighted down on the windowsill and began staring at her, their creepy little beady eyes penetrating her.

_Are they challenging me?... _she was almost in shock.

She quickly ran back through the estate, finally reaching a motorcycle that she had hidden amongst the bushes. She sped off into the night just as police sirens started to sound in the distance.

_Thank god I wasn't on duty this evening._

* * *

She once again went through the Iceberg lounge, being very careful as not to touch anything or draw any attention to herself, which was quite hard seeing as how she was dressed. She heard several wolf howl imitations from one table in the back.

She went through the large elevator and into the Penguin's office.

"I've got the armor." She said as she entered the room.

"Very good, Catwoman." The chair jiggled a bit as someone got out of it. Penguin came out from behind the desk, allowing her her first look at him.

He was a short man in fine clothing and a top hat. He had a shock of bright red hair that could be seen from beneath his hat and he had a monocle in his eye, though he seemed to look past it, rather than through it, leading her to believe that it was just for show. He wouldn't have seemed so tubby if he had been a normal hight, but his diminutive stature causing him to look rather rounded. He had short little arms and incredibly short legs. His nose was long and came to a narrow point and he had beady pupils. She now understood why some would call him Penguin. Strangest of all was the fact that he carried with him an umbrella.

She forced herself to keep a strait face.

"Well," He shrugged his shoulders, "At least you didn't laugh."

"I would never mock someone like that, Mr. Penguin."

"Smart." Was all Penguin said. He examined the armor, eye each and every piece. "It's all here, and in good shape too. Well done, Catwoman. I am here by granting you access to our club. Feel free to enjoy any food or drinks that you desire. But remember: Don't go into any other rooms – especially up here – with out my permission. The result could be fatal." He warned her as he sat back in his chair, answering the phone that had started ringing.

"Understood, Penguin."

She walked back to the elevator, but managed to catch a small bit of what Penguin had been saying.

"Drury! I'm not lending you or that God Damned lazy company of yours a penny more until you have proven you've done your re-"

The elevator doors slid shut, cutting off the sound.

_Drury? Company? Could he mean Drury Walker?_

The elevator chimed and began carrying her back down to the ground level, blocking the sound of any further conversation.

* * *

"You were attacked by a woman in a cat suit?" Gordon raised an eyebrow.

"More or less, yeah." Bruce answered.

Bullock stroked his mustache. "Strange, really. I wonder if our Catwoman has any connection with Batman?"

"Could be." James scratched the back of his head. "The forensic team has already got all their samples, so I guess we can go ahead and head back to the station."

"Come on." Bullock gestured for Gordon and a few other police officers to follow. "Good night Mr. Wayne, Mr. Pennyworth."

Bruce and Alfred watched the two men leave. Alfred locked the door behind them and then went into the library, following close behind Wayne.

"I trust you're planning on doing some investigations of your own, Bruce?"

"Of course, Alfred. I always do. I can't help but feel that I knew her somehow though..."

"While it is a possibilty, it's highly unlikely. Gotham has hundreds of thousands of citizens. Meeting one twice by chance is almost impossible."

"True. But I still can't shake that feeling. I guess I'll just try and run a diagnostic on this fabric piece she snagged on the windowsill."

"And you don't think that that's important for the police?"

"I didn't take _all_ of it." Bruce said, looking somewhat like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

* * *

Selena sat at her desk at home, pondering over what she had found out so far. She had learned that the Iceberg Lounge was in fact a criminal organization, she had managed to sketch a picture of Penguin's face, she had found out that they were linked to a larger organization that controlled crime in multiple cities, and had discovered the possibility that Drury Walker was connected to this crime ring.

_Though that wouldn't make much sense since Gothcorp his a multibillion dollar company... _She thought. _I'm sure more of this will become more clear with time, which unfortunately, isn't something I have a whole lot of._

She couldn't deny it. Penguin was bound to find her out, though he had no clue how soon that time would come.

**Okay, so that's chapter eleven for y'all. There'll probably be more or less of two more chapters in this story arch, and than I'm not quite sure what will come next, probably a plot line I'll call 'Bodyguard' which probably wont last for nearly as long, but will introduce Sasha.**

**Oh, and as a side note, I'm seriously questioning a Superman story. I really would like any suggestions you could give me. I can say this much though: Superman will have much more limited powers. He'll have superhuman strength and speed, which together will allow him to bound long distances, like the original Man of Steel. So there be no cheaty flying. He'll have X-Ray vision and I've even came up with a fairly scientific theory for his powers. Ah, heck. I think I'm just gonna write a test story.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed :) Live long and eat Pull and Peel Licorice :D**


	12. The Cat with Two Lives, part 3

**Chapter 12! Oh yeah!**

Bullock carefully examined the glass case that had previously held a Greek jar from the bronze age.

"This is the eighth robbery being committed by a 'Catwoman'. I want this chick found. Selena, any leads?" He turned to the police Sargent.

"No, sir. Nothing has turned up so far."

"And proven connection with Bats?"

"None to date, though costumes do have a certain similarity."

She forced herself not to wince. It was hard talking about someone that she secretly was.

"There's nothing more to do in here. We'll let the forensic team take over. Come on Kyle, Gordon."

The two officers followed him out of the building, heading back to the station.

The door opened up with a resounding thud and a small, petite figure walked in.

Joker sat back in his chair and looked as casual as possible. Dr. Quinzle sat down in her chair and placed a recording device on the table, flipping it on. She placed her notebook on the tabletop as well and took off her glasses.

"Well, Mista J, I hope that we can make some more progress today."

"Maybe." He shrugged, but than leaned forward, his face showing that he was really interested in what he was about to say. "You know, I've been thinking. You're name is Harleen Quinzel."

"Yes, I'm glad ya' noticed after several weeks."

"You're not letting me finish, doc. If you take your name and remove some of the letters, look what you've got! Harlequin!"

"Yes, that's very fascinatin'. Now, could we maybe discuss some more about yeer childhood? I did a background check and there is no record of a Mista Jack King bein' born in Chicago. Where were you born, and what was – or is, I should say – your real name."

"When I was young, I lived right here in Gotham. My father was drug addict and my mother was a whore. My name was... I seem to have forgotten..." He looked very thoughtful.

"You forgot ya name?" Dr. Quinzel wasn't convinced.

"Well, yes. You must understand, I've tried my hardest to forget my past."

"I see... I suppose that might be possible. Your parents, are they alive?"

"No. My father killed my mother in front of me. You see, he wasn't aware that she was still a prostitute. Anyways, he killed her, and than I got really mad and ended up killing him."

"And that's the truth?"

"All of it and nothing but, well, as far as I can remember. Now, could we talk about something more pleasant?"

"Alright. What would you like to talk about?"

"How about you."

"Me?" Harleen was a bit confused.

"But of course. What more pleasant subject to discuss than your own beauty?"

"Well... I...Mista J, if ya' don't want tah talk any further about your past, I had best be goin'."

She stood up and turned off the tape recorder, putting it into her purse. She turned to leave, but Joker gently grabbed her wrist in his cuffed hands. He gave her a look that she couldn't decipher, his eyes looking intently at her.

"Why. So. SERIOUS?"

She her hand away and went up to the door, pressing the call button. The guards came in and escorted her out. A door behind him opened and he was grabbed out of his seat and pushed through the halls, back to his cell.

"Ah, you've done well, my feline friend." Penguin said, admiring the Greek Vase. He set it down on his desk. "I have another job for you. This will be the last one before we allow you access to our inner organization."

"And that would be?" Catwoman said, examining her glove as though she were checking her nails. She was perched on his desk, looking rather provocative.

"This one is in a home address, a wealthy mansion. Inside is a gold sculpture of a vulture with two ruby studded eyes. I want that for my collection."

"Expect it by morning." She stood up and went back to the elevator.

She reached the bottom floor and entered the lobby, putting on her coat and wide brimmed hat. She stepped outside, into the slums of the Narrows. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and read the address, repeating it in her head several times. It must have been just outside of town because the street names were unfamiliar to her.

_I wonder who lives out there? _She thought.

"Alfred, I've cross referenced all of those stolen objects." Bruce pressed a button on the keyboard, listing several people. "These are all the people that owned those items."

"Do any of them have anything in common?" Alfred asked.

"Yes. They're all either members or suspected to be members of the Iceberg Lounge."

Alfred stroked his chin. "So whoever owns the place has been stealing from his own clients?"

"Possibly. There's only one more person of significant wealth in whom has either been proven to have a connection to the Iceberg, or else has been suspected to be a member. His name is Oswald Cobblepot, who collects bird based sculptures from the Middle and far East."

"And I'm guessing you're planning on having a stake out?"

"Exactly."

"So than, to the Batmobile?"

Wayne sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Alfred, for the last time, _I'm _NOT_ calling it the batmobile_."

"That's what the news is calling it."

Wayne gave an exasperated moan. "Why can't it just be 'Batman's Car'?"

Selena cautiously entered into the mansion, being careful as not to set off the security system.

_No ones home, for once. _She mussed, glad as to not have a repeat of Wayne Manor. She silently crept through the house, heading towards the gallery.

Batman found that a hole had been cut in the window, an entire pane of glass lying in the grass lawn. He climbed through, his eyes roaming over the dimly lit room. He thought he caught sight of someone in the distance, a slim figure, perhaps Catwoman.

He darted across the room, pressing himself against the doorway, peering around.

It was definitely her. She walked through the house, obviously searching for something.

_Lets just hope she doesn't get to find it._

Selena couldn't help but feel she was being watched, but whenever she looked, there was no one. She ignored the feeling and continued looking, finally arrived in the gallery. The statue was in the far back of the room, it's ruby eyes glistening in what little light came in through the windows.

Selena approached it trying to think of a way to smuggle something so large. It looked as though it must way at least fifty pounds. She got closer to it, and thats when it hit her:

The buzzard was a fake. It wasn't made of gold, marble, or anything else. It seemed to be nothing more than foam. The eyes were plastic and there was something at the base. She knelt down to examine it.

_A bomb! _The words screamed in her head. She glanced over her shoulder and spotted what appeared to be an infrared tripwire.

_The clock is ticking! _She jumped up and started running back towards the door. She didn't get far, finding her exit blocked by a tall, horned figure.

"Batman!" She gasped.

"So we finally mee-" the doors behind them slammed shut. Batman turned around and attempted to yank them open. "What's going on, Catwoman?" He demanded.

"This isn't me! I've been set up. The bomb suddenly chimed, letting off only a small explosion, obviously meant for a closer ranged target.

"Well, that was a small bomb." She shrugged.

"It's not over yet!" Batman threw his cowl around them both as green fumes began rising through the air. Their vision blurred and the room felt like it was swimming. They both passed out on the floor.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Kitty Cat. Enjoy your nap?"

Catwoman's eyes blinked open. She was tied to a chair with Penguin in front of her. Behind her, Batman was still passed out, tied to another chair.

"What's this about, Penguin?"

"Simple: You're a spy. You've been infiltrating my organization and deceiving me and my business partners. Oh, yes, Catwoman, I know all your secrets."

Catwoman's face looked shocked.

_Does he know who I am?_

"We know what you've been up to, and we know who you are! You're at league with Batman, aren't you?"

Catwoman stopped. That was it? Nothing about the police? She could play along with that.

"Yes, me and him have been working together." She said, false reluctantly.

"Ha! I knew it! Tell me this, before I unmask Batman myself, do you know who he is?"

"Well, er, yes."

Penguin scowled. "And where do you know him from? Who is he to you?"

"He's... He's my lover." Selena said, trying to buy time.

Batman was by now awake and slowly sitting up.

_I came in at a bad moment..._ He thought, taking in the situation.

"_HE'S _the best you can do? Too bad, I would have treated you much better, Kitty Cat." Selena felt like vomiting at the thought of him touching her. "And now to see who he really is."

Batman kept his head lulled, pretending to be asleep, which was hard when he saw how ridiculous his captor looked. The short man reached for his mask. With a grunt of pain, Batman tore his arm free of the ropes, the spikes on his gauntlet taring through the braids. His fist came up against Penguin's jaw, sending him flat on his back. Batman tore through the other arm and grabbed Penguin up by the collar, throwing him at the thugs who were just entering the room. Their boss collided with them, knocking them flat on their backs.

"I believe that's our cue, Cat." Batman pulled out a baterange and sliced through her bindings, freeing her. He picked her up and bridal carried her, running over to the window and jumping out of it. He easily survived the two-story fall and set her down.

"Do you have some sort of transportation? A getaway car?"

"No, I had a Taxi bring me here."

"Follow me." They both rushed across the field surrounding Oswald's mansion and found the Batmobile. He opened it up and they both got in.

"Cozy." She said, getting into the front seat.

Batman put the car in drive and sped off towards the main street, heading towards the main road.

"Don't get to comfortable, because you've got a lot to explain before we reach police head quarters."

That Batmobile sat idly behind GPD.

"I know, it was stupid, and I'm sorry. But how is it any different than what you do?" Selena asked.

"I don't commit crimes while I'm out fighting crime." Batman narrowed his eyes.

"Refusing arrest? Hiding your identity? Blowing up police cars? And I _know _you've been taking evidence for yourself. You commit just as many crimes as I do."

Batman turned away, looked awkwardly at the steering wheel. He put the car in reverse and backed out, going back onto the back road, heading away from the Police Department.

"Where's your address?"

Bullock sat bewildered at his desk. "So this 'Catwoman' just gave you all of this?"

Selena nodded and Bullock just continued to stare at the sketches, lists and even photos of the Iceberg Lounge. Complete reports and everything had just turned up on his desk.

"Something must be up." Bullock sat back in his chair, rubbing his chin. "Why would she just give us all this stuff?"

"All of the items she stole have been returned, sir." Gordon mentioned.

"She returned them?"

"Yes sir."

"Well then, Selena, I need photo copies of all of this sent to the mayor. I want a search warrant and the FBI down there at that club ASAP!"

"You've got it, commissioner." Selena said, scooping up all of the evidence."

"Whoever that Catwoman is, we owe her our thanks."

"I'm sure she was just doing her duty, sir." Selena gave a slight nod before taking her leave.

"You seem distant, Wayne. What's the matter?"

Alfred sat a tray of food down in front of the Wayne as he sat at the computer in the Batcave.

"I've been thinking about Catwoman. Everyone was sure that I was working with Catwoman. But, would it be that bad to actually have someone helping me out on the streets?"

Wayne pressed a button and started cycling through websites, monitoring all of the news.

"I suppose it would help. I had Robin at my side. With out him, there is no way I would have lasted as long as I did."

Bruce stopped at one article, transfixed on it.

"Wayne?"

"Alfred... Read this..."

Alfred scanned over the article.

'THE MYSTERY OF BATMAN

For over a year, we have attempted to discover the true identity of Batman. It is my belief that I have done just that.

I have looked all across Gotham's major figures, and have spotted several of which I believe would be the most fitting, foremost of which is the bachelor Bruce Wayne.

The article went on to mention several others, but kept coming back to Bruce.

"Alfred, this is not good..."

**Okay, so there you go, chapter twelve and the end of Cat With Two Lives. I'm stuck on what to call my next chapter, though I'm still working on it.**

**If you go to my profile, I have a link to a web page created to post all of my fanart on, some of which is for this story. Yeah. I made myself fanart. Get over it.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed :) Come on! Let's reach twenty before the next chapter!**


	13. Burning Bridges, part 1

**DUH DUH DUH! Oh no! It's the unlucky one! NOOOOOOO! I ART GONNA FAIL BEEG TIME! CURSE YOU NUMBER 13!**

Garfield Lynns walked towards his small apartment, avoiding eye contact with any of the shadowy figures that lined the small street.

Appleseed Drive had long since been renamed Crime Alley, which was probably a much more fitting name. It was a long, narrow stretch of street that was lined with rundown apartments and what used to be stores, but were also now being used as homes as there was no way to sell anything in such a terrible part of town. Crime Alley was located in the Narrows, the worst part of Gotham since the Arkham Massacre years before.

Garfield was a mid-twenties man with scruffy auburn hair. He was unshaven and looked tired and worn out. He had formerly been a pyrotechnic working for a famous magician named Zakkana, but when he passed away, Garfield was left without a job.

He pulled out his keys and quickly unlocked the door and slipped inside, slamming it shut behind him.

Inside, he had a scarcely furnished one room apartment in need of multiple repairs. His Daughter, nine years old and very intelligent, sat in front of a broken down TV, displaying only black and white colors and barely holding a signal. A small microwave meal was in front of her.

"There's another one in the freezer if you want it, but we've only got two more after that."

He swore lightly under his breath.

"Uh, Jenny, I think I found a new job." He said awkwardly and slightly cheerfully, starting the microwave.

"Really?" She said smiling. "That's so cool! What kind of job is it?"

"Uh, I can't say..."

His daughter's expression fell. "Dad, is it something illegal?"

"No, Jenny." He said rolling his eyes. "It's an employment with Gothcorp, but I haven't been told exactly what I'll be doing. Also, we don't want any of the neighbors knowing that we're saving up money, so keep it down about my new job."

"Okay, I'll keep quiet." she said, going back to fumbling with the TV antenna.

The next day, Garfield woke up early and, after making sure that the house was secure, left for Gothcorp.

He arrived shortly and went inside, heading up to the top floor. There, he met the receptionist who lead him to Drury Walker's office. The large doors opened wide and he was escorted in. Drury asked the receptionist to leave and had Lynns sit down in a chair in front of him.

"When you came to me the other day with your new invention, I was amazed. So much power!"

"Thank you sir." Garfield gave a small nod. "I'm very proud of my wrist gauntlets."

"And the jet pack I found was hard to maneuver for those who weren't used to it, but on you? It works wonders."

"Thank you sir."

"But now we must talk business." Walker sat back in his chair. "I don't want to buy these from you." He nodded towards the box on his desk. "I want to first see their full potential."

"You would like me to give another demonstration?" Garfield asked, curiously.

"Yes, but much bigger." Drury leaned in much closer. "You might have heard that I'm not the businessman I pretend to be."

Lynns put his hands up and lean away. "Hold it. I've already gotten mixed up with Rupert Falcone's gang and I served two years in Blackgate for it. I also lost my home and my reputation as a pyrotechnic. I'm not going into that again."

"Maybe, Lynns, but I'm giving you the chance of a life time. I'll give you a hundred thousand if you can just bring me a certain prototype bomb from Wayne Industries. You get me the A98 and I'll be willing to give you the cash if you get me that bomb."

Lynns stared at the desk for a few minutes. "Fine."

"And don't worry about being caught. I've already built a special suit along with a mask for you. As long as you have the mask on, you will no longer be Garfield Lynns, but rather Firefly!"

* * *

Wayne stepped out Wayne Industries, headed towards his car. A thin stick of a woman ran up to him. He immediately recognized her as the news reporter and TV host Summer Gleason.

"Mr. Wayne, what is your comment on the speculations that you are the legendary Batman?" She put a tape recorder up to his mouth and a man followed behind her with a camcorder.

"I was unaware of this. Who started these rumors?" He decided to play dumb,

"Several sources running amok on the Internet, you know, the usual stuff." She answered.

"Well, I can tell you this much: I don't like Batman. The man's causing trouble left and right in the city. No man is above the law and it pains me to know that I have become associated with him." Wayne lied.

"Oh. Well, any comment on the talk that you have been dating Olivia Dawson, former hostess of Good Morning Metropolis?"

"Please, Ms. Gleeson, I'm really not in the mood for interviews. I have to get going."

"Oh, well, than maybe over lunch sometime?"

"No thank you, I think Ms. Dawson would be very upset if I went out with another woman."

He climb into his Lamborghini.

"You can't ignore the press Mr. Wayne!"

"I just did!" He said, slamming his door and speeding off.

* * *

Bruce arrived at Wayne Manor and went inside. In the kitchen, Alfred was cleaning dishes. A young woman, probably about Bruce's age, was standing beside him, drying off what he had cleaned. She had light colored skin and short blond hair. Her face was very angular and hard, and yet still very beautiful in its own way. She seemed to be speaking with a French accent as she related to him about how annoying her flight attendant had been.

"Uh, Alfred, care to introduce me to your friend here?" Wayne asked.

"Oh, hello Bruce." Alfred handed the woman the last plate and dried off his hands. "This is my niece, Sasha Pennyworth. She is the answer to all of our problems."

"_All _of our problems?" Wayne hinted, trying to figure out if this had anything to do with the rumors. "I mean, those _special _problems?"

"Oh for heaven's sake, Bruce, you sound like your talking about a rash on your privates." This brought a slight snicker from the woman. Alfred rolled his eyes and went on. "There is no need for secrecy, Bruce, she already knows who you are."

"What!" Bruce was angry. "You told her who I am?"

"Please, Bruce, control your temper. She has already known since you first became Batman. You see, her father – my brother – is a vigilante in Paris who calls himself the Gray Ghost. When you became Batman, they both put two and two together and figured out your identity. There's no need to worry."

Wayne calmed down. "I'm sorry for overreacting. But, how will this solve our dilemma?"

"Well, Sasha here has experience in martial arts, much like our own. My idea is that you could have her stay here with us as a bodyguard. This would make you seem weaker, as though you needed protection. Also, having a woman who you're not married to living with you will maintain the whole 'playboy' appearance."

"I suppose it'll work. Are you prepared to live here?"

"Of course, Mr. Wayne." Sasha spoke at last. "It would be an honor to work with you, both as myself, and as the Banshee."

"The Banshee?" Wayne asked.

"Yes, it's my alter-ego, a play on my father's name."

"Hm. I suppose I could use some help out there. It's settled then. You'll assist me when I'm out on patrols, that way if someone comes to see me here, they wont find it suspicious that you're not with me."

"I'll put my equipment in your, er, cave as Alfred said it was." She walked off, her hips shaking as she went.

"Is there anything you haven't told her?" Wayne asked, watching her leave.

"Well..." Alfred's eyes suddenly opened wide. "The stairca-"

Alfred was cut off by a slight cry and then several thuds. Bruce and Alfred quickly ran to the entrance and went down the stairs, which was almost invisible in the dim light that surrounded the opening.

They went down the stairs and found her picking herself up at the bottom.

"Wonderful place to put it." She said, rubbing her back. She looked around her. "Nice..."

The Batcave was large and expansive, many parts of it hidden by dark shadows. Small lights hung from stalactites on the ceiling, at least a hundred feet up. A massive computer illuminated one corner, it's enormous screen displaying constant police reports. A small path lead off in one direction to a circular disk-like driveway. On it was a jet-black car of an older model, but with obvious add-ons and upgrades.

"Gives man-cave a whole new meaning..." She mussed, taking it all in.

"Its kind of cold and damp, but its home." Wayne said somewhat proudly. "Installed all of the lights myself... And the rotating driveway for easy arrival and leaving."

Alfred leaned over to Sasha. "As you may have guessed, he doesn't get to show this place off much."

She started to laugh, but was cut off by an alarm blaring overhead, flashing a red light.

Wayne went over to the computer and pressed several buttons. Windows began popping up at random, displaying a wide amount of information, including the audio for the police call, the source and the estimated distance.

"This is Lieutenant Jim Gordon outside of the Wayne Industries main building. There some crazed maniac inside with two laser guns." A voice crackled through the speakers.

"This is Bullock. Gordon, did you say laser guns?"

"Yes sir, or at least some kind of heat rays."

"I'm sending a squad over now."

Wayne turned down the volume. "Alfred, keep us updated on what's all happening. Sasha, get suited up. They might need our help."

* * *

Firefly zipped through the building, blasting security guards out of his way.

He wore black armor with a gold helmet and two special gauntlets that had thick, metal cords rapped around his fingers that fired out powerful laser blasts. He had a state-of-the-art jet pack strapped to his back, enabling him to fly about.

He burst through two double doors, finding himself in the basement storage room. A black man with graying hair was over in the corner. He held up a prototype grappling hook launcher.

"Get out of here, NOW!" Lucius Fox yelled. He fired off the grappling hook, rapping it around Firefly's legs. Firefly simply blasted the chord with his gauntlets. He aimed a shot at Lucius, but before he could fire, a boomerang like weapon flew through the air, stabbing into his arm. He dropped in pain, grabbing hold of the offending object and tossing it aside.

He looked at where the batargang had come from. Two people were charging him. The first was obviously Batman, but the second was unfamiliar to him. She had blond, short hair and an angular build with a small, eye mask covering her face. She wore dark purple jacket and pants with lighter colored gloves and boots. Her jacket was unzipped partly and she had a large quartstaff in her hand.

Banshee threw herself at Firefly while Batman helped Lucius towards the door, throwing his cape around them both and pulling the older man to the ground when a stray energy beam almost hit them.

"How did you get in here?" Lucius asked in disbelief.

"That's not important now." Batman answer in a hoarse, deep voice. "You need to get out of here as fast as possible." He slammed the doors shut, cutting off any further protest from Fox.

He ran back into the room where Banshee was still trying to get a hold of Firefly. Firefly apparently got sick of fighting and slammed his fists together, creating massive blast of energy. Batman threw himself over Banshee, rapping his cape around her. The blast stopped and they looked up. Firefly now had the prototype bomb and was already making his way out of the building.

"So long, Batman!" He called out.

* * *

"I've got the bomb." Firefly said solemnly as he set a large box down on Drury's desk. The crooked businessman stood up and examined the contents of the box, smiling craftily.

"Very good, Firefly. I'll transfer the money into your account. Now, tomorrow I will have a new mission for you."

"Same wages?"

"I'll give you as much as you deserve, believe me." He smiled wickedly.

**Yay! New chapter! I'm so freaking excited! Wow. Nineteen reviews. Thanks to Mrs. Flash, Darkflametails, and everyone else who reviewed :) Woo-hoo! Oh, and I'm now accepting anonymous reviews**

**Sorry for not writing this very much. I spent all of last weekend away from my computer because my Aunt was staying in my room. And then I got distracted again because I kept watching BTAS, though I can't find The New Animated Adventures anywhere that doesn't require downloads :(**

**I've also been working on Phenominal X-Men, Cybertronian Error and several other stories, so yeah, big distractions :P**


	14. Burning Bridges, part 2

**A/N: Uh... Something to say... Oh, I know: Consider your licorice pulled and peeled :)**

Garfield stood up from the single arm chair in his living room and went behind the curtain that maintained his bedroom, dressed himself in nicer clothes and grabbing his suitcase.

His daughter looked at him quizzically. "Why do you have to leave now? It's pretty late in the evening."

"I've been called to a very important meeting, Jenny. I promise, I'll be back as soon as I can." He sighed. "Somethings troubling you. What's wrong?"

"I was watching the news and saw someone who had broken into Wayne Industries. He had weapons like those laser blasters you built..." Her voice trailed off. "I'm sorry, but I'm just worried that it was you."

He knelt down beside her. "Don't worry, I won't do anything bad."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

He stood up and quietly left, locking the door behind him. He set off towards Gothcorp, wondering what job Drury Walker would have for him.

* * *

"What's that?" Sasha asked, coming down into the Batcave. She walked over to where Bruce was examining something under a microscope.

"It's the Batarang I threw at the bug-guy. It has enough blood on it that I should be able to do a DNA test using the FBI records."

"You have access to that?"

Wayne nodded. He started to say something, but Alfred came half way down the stairs that led to the mansion. "Harvey Dent is up stairs in the foyer."

"Thank you Alfred." Bruce said, setting the computer to identify the blood sample. "And with this, we'll know if the man has any past criminal record."

Wayne went upstairs, careful to take a long way around the house as not to draw attention to the entrance behind the clock tower in the library.

"Harvey!" He said, coming into the room and shaking hand's with his good friend. "Long time no see, eh?"

"Good to see you too, Bruce. I'm here to announce that I have just won my twelfth case in a two months, setting a new record!"

"Congratulations Harvey." Bruce smiled, clapping his friend on the back. "So, what happens when you reach your next one? Uh, Harvey?"

Dent was only staring ahead blankly. Bruce followed his gaze to Sasha, who was right now standing in the corner, staring back at the black-haired lawyer.

"H-Hi, I'm Harvey Dent, an old friend of Bruce's." He said, gently shaking her hand.

"I'm Sasha Pennyworth, Bruce's new bodyguard."

Bruce rolled his eyes. The two ignored him just staring at one another.

Harvey finally turned his attention back to Bruce. "Er, uh, what was it you were saying about my next case?"

"Oh, well it will be your thirteenth, the _unlucky one._" Bruce raised his eyebrows slightly._ "_So do you think you'll lose your winning streak?" Wayne elbowed him slightly.

Harvey looked skyward. "Oh, please! I have no belief in luck. Life his chance, fifty-fifty, equal opportunity to everyone. That's why the court system works. Everyone has their fair chance."

Wayne chuckled. "What do you say about dinner sometime? Maybe Saturday night?"

"Sounds good." Harvey nodded. "And now, if you'll please excuse me, I have to be going. Mss. Pennyworth," He nodded slightly towards the French woman. "Very nice meeting you."

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Garfield frowned, his eyes narrowing.

"You heard me right. I want you to assassinate Rupert Falcone." Walker smiled, sitting back in his chair.

"But that's a suicide mission! There's no way I'll survive!"

"You'd better do your best then, Mr. Lynns."

Garfield put on his helmet and opened Walker's window, stepping out on the ledge. The sun was already going down, giving him cover to sneak up on Falcone's headquarters.

"I head better be getting paid double for this." He said.

"Don't worry, Firefly, you'll get what you deserve."

Firefly scowled behind the helmet. He didn't like the way Walker said that. He ignored it and leaped out the window, activating his jet pack, taking off into the night.

* * *

"Do we have a match yet?" Sasha asked Bruce, coming up behind him.

He pressed several more buttons on the computer. "Yes, just now actually. A few years back Garfield Lynns was arrested for working with Rupert Falcone's gang. He assaulted several men and used his knowledge of pyrotechnics to blow a bank safe."

"That would fit who he is, but why would Falcone give a failed thug fancy armor and have him make such a big deal of steal a bomb when Falcone could either have one built, have one of his many undercover businesses buy it from you, or else have a higher trained and more qualified thief take it at night?"

"He did seem to attract a lot of attention to this robbery. That's one question I'll have to find out."

* * *

"Stop him!" Rupert Falcone ordered, running across his desk, trying to reach the pistol he had hidden there.

Behind him, Firefly plunged through the building, firing laster blast at bodyguards, sending them across the room.

Rupert reached for his gun but a hand from behind slammed his face first against the desktop. He was yanked around and found himself staring at Firefly's glowing fist.

"Your men will probably live, but you'll have a much lower chance of surviving when I crank this to maximum power." His fist glowed brighter, letting of so much heat it hurt Rupert's face.

Suddenly, the promise he had made to his daughter came flashing back to Lynns. He hesitated, his fist dimming a bit, but that was all it took. Rupert reached his hand up and grabbed hold of his automatic and aimed it at the assassin. Firefly flew backwards, dodging several shots from Falcone's gun. He slammed into the ceiling knocking off his helmet. He quickly picked it up and started backing towards the window.

"Better leave while you can." Rupert threatened. His bodyguards were getting back up, training their guns on Firefly.

"Wait," Rupert scratch his chin with one hand. "I remember you! You were that punk that almost got me found out. Hm. Kill him, boys!"

All of Rupert's bodyguards opened fire, but Garfield quickly put his helmet back on and flew backwards, out of the window that was behind him, using his laser blasters as thrusters.

He raced across town, making it to Gothcorp. He entered into Walker's office.

"I'm sorry! I failed! He almost killed me! Please forgive me!" Firefly begged.

Walker's face remained even. "It's late. We'll discuss what to do about this tomorrow morning."

Garfield thanked him before leaving in his street clothes, heading back to his house.

He arrived home shortly later and went inside. His daughter was already asleep in her 'room', which was hidden only by a small curtain.

_Your mother would have wanted so much better for you, Jenny... If only I hadn't run out of money, I could have paid for her treatments and she wouldn't..._

He cut of the train of thought, lying down on his bed and falling asleep.

The next morning came to early and he forced himself out of bed. He left before Jenny woke up, leaving a message, saying that he had to leave early and that his job may have been at risk.

* * *

"Walker, I am truly sorry, but you must understand that while I am desperate for money and that I _hate_ Falcone, I cannot take a life so freely. It would be murder!" Garfield explained.

Drury nodded. "I understand, Lynns. I just-"

Garfield held up his hand, motioning for him to be quiet. He stood up from his chair, walking behind Drury and staring out the window. "That area out there in the distance; wouldn't you say that's about where Crime Alley is?"

"Where? The place with smoke billowing up from it? Yes, probably just about. Why?"

"My house is there... And my daughter!" Firefly put on his helmet and his jetpack and opened the window, jumping out.

He soon arrived at the smoking remains of Crime Alley. He stopped on a roof just beyond it and stared down at where his house had once been. Two firemen were carrying out Jenny on a gurney. A paramedic rushed over with his kit, but the firemen both shook there heads solemnly.

She was still, her skin was pail and she wasn't breathing.

Garfield dropped to his knees and screamed in anguish before breaking down in bitter tears.

His daughter was dead.

**A/N: Okay, so that was chapter fourteen. Hope you liked it. Thanks to Mrs. Flash for reviewing the last chapter. Let's see if we can get at least five more on this one ;) If I have any X-Men fans out there, then feel free to read one of my newer stories, _Phenomenal X-Men._**


	15. Burning Bridges, part 3

**There has been a slight character change. Before, I had merged the characters of Rupert Thorn with Eddie Falcone, but now I've retconned that by making them two separate people. Eddie Falcon is the higher crime lord that is at league with Drury Walker, while Rupert Thorn is a solo-man working to steal the mafia's 'business'. He's also the one that Firefly tried to assassinate in the previous chapter. I'll try and fix that up later, but for now, here's the new chapter.**

Garfield dropped to his knees, placing his fist against the side of his head. It slowly began to glow and heat up as he built up more and more energy into it.

_My life is pointless without her. I have no more reason to go on..._

"Wait!" He heard a deep voice call from behind. He ignored it, closing his eyes as he prepared to fire the fetal blast through his skull. A strong hand seized hold of his arm and wrenched it away just as he released the blast, sending it off into the sky. He turned around angrily, but found himself face to face with Batman. The caped crusader yanked him off of the ground, pulling off his helmet.

"Garfield Lynns, just as I suspected."

Garfield turned away. "Have you come to make my life more miserable too?

"You just blew up a city block and you think that I just might be here to make you MISERABLE?"

Firefly angrily stomped his foot. "I did not do this! My home was down there! So was my..." His voice trailed off. "... And so was my daughter."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Batman said quietly. "I will begin looking into who could have done this."

"I'll tell you who did this! It was Rupert Thorn! I know it was!"

"How do you know?"

"Walker set me up last night to try and assassinate Thorn, but I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't do it. He knows who I am and must have done this to get back at me!"

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Walker? As in Drury Walker? How's he related to this?"

Firefly realized his mistake. "No, it must be a different guy. I have to go."

"Oh no you don't!" Batman attempted to grab Firefly. "You're going into police custody!"

"You'll have to catch me first, Batman." Firefly challenged, flying up into the air and out of Batman's reach. He sped off towards the nicer part of town.

Batman switched on his communicator. "Alfred, run a check to find any connections between Crime Alley and Drury Walker."

Batman turned his attention back to Sasha. "The Fire Department has this situation under control. I only wish we could have gotten here sooner. But there's no time for that." He pulled out his grappling hook launcher - a hand held device he had gotten from Lucius Fox – and shot it at a nearby building. "We're going after Lynns. He's undoubtedly heading for Falcone's residence, wherever that may be. He wont stand a chance against the crime lord."

* * *

Firefly burst through the window and landed in a barrel roll into the upstairs library. He stood up, brushing glass of his suit. A guard came into the room.

"What's going on in-"

Firefly shot a laser blast at the man's chest, knocking him unconscious. He went out into the hall and shot another guard, terrifying a young maid. She turned and ran down the hall, screaming. He flew towards her and grabbed her from behind, putting one hand over her mouth and squeezing tightly on her arm.

"I don't want to hurt you." He whispered in her ear. "Tell me where Thorn is."

He removed his hand from her mouth. "He's downstairs in the dinning room! Please don't hurt me."

"I'm sorry, but you're to much of a risk." He grabbed her by the neck, cutting off her pulse and causing her to faint. She swooned into his arms and he gently placed her into the room he had just came from. He shut the door and turned his attention back to the hall.

* * *

"Which way did he go?" Batman asked, trying to remain calm. The six year old boy pointed. Batman nodded and pulled back out his grappling hook, shooting it at a nearby skyscraper.

"Cute kid." Sasha commented.

Batman made a slight grunting noise. "I've never been good with kids. I'd doubt I'd be able to raise one."

* * *

Firefly made a leap over the hand railing on the staircase, falling down to the bottom story. He caught himself in the air before he made impact, stopping to fire off several shots at more bodyguards.

"What's going on in there?" Rupert Thorn threw open the door and looked around the corner with a gasp. "You again?"

"You killed her! I'll destroy you!" Lynns roared, firing of a powerful blast.

Thorn ducked,barely avoiding the shot. "What are you going on about, you mad man?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Thorn! I know what you did! You blew up an entire city block, killing hundreds of people! One of them was my daughter, you pig!" Firefly launched himself forward, taking hold of Thorn by the neck and slamming him into a wall.

"I'll kill you for this!"

* * *

Outside, Batman and Sasha landed on the fence of a large estate.

"He went in here alright. That window up there's been shattered."

"So what do we do?"

"I guess we go in-"

"Bruce, it's Alfred. I've just found something out from the police reports."

"What?"

"The central bomb that was used to blow up Crime Alley was the one Lynns stole from you. Also, Walker has been pushing to buy out that land for almost a decade now."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "So he's behind this. Alfred, alert the police about the situation here at Thorn's Estate. Sasha, you head in and try and catch Lynns. I'm going to Gothcorp."

* * *

Thorn slammed into two double doors, bursting them wide open. The rotund man scooted backwards, trying to keep as much distance as possible between him and Firefly.

"I swear! I had nothing to do with it!" Thorn said, pleading.

"Enough!" Firefly raised his fist towards Thorn, charging a blast.

"Wait! He's telling the truth!" Sasha ran into the room, bowstaff ready.

"Fine. If you're so smart, then who is responsible?" Firefly said, raising another fist towards Sahsa.

"The bomb used was the one you stole from Wayne Industries. Drury set you up, Lynns. Thorn has nothing to do with this."

"Walker?" The light around Firefly's fists dulled. "He... NO!" Firefly lifted up into the air and sped around her.

"His hatred is quite easily retargeted." Thorn said, picking himself up off the ground.

"But mine isn't." Sasha said, raising her bowstaff.

Thorn laughed. "You have no proof that I was involved with this in anyway! After all, I wasn't. And Gothom Police Department doesn't know that Rupert Thorn is the Thorn who works for the Gotham Crime Ring. You can't hurt me." He smiled mischievously. "You on the other hand, are a masked vigilante who has broken into my home. And is that Police sirens I hear coming up the street? If I were you, I would leave before they come."

Sasha brought her bowstaff across his cheek, causing him to reel around before collapsing back to the floor. "Consider that a taste of what you'll get the next time we cross paths, Thorn."

* * *

"Hello, Batman." Walker sat at his desk, finger tips pressed together as he stared forward at his doors. Behind him, Batman shut the sliding glass window before coming up behind the corrupt business man.

"I should kill you!" Batman spun the chair around and grabbed Walker by the shirt collar, bringing him close, his face twisted into a snarl.

"You should. You should strike me down, kill me. Give yourself to the crime you have fought so long to destroy, do what you've prevented for so long."

Batman threw him back down into his chair. Walker laughed dryly. "You think you can just walk in here and threaten me? You have no proof."

"You hired Lynns to steal that bomb from Wayne Industries. He's a man desperate for revenge and he'll testify against you in a heart beat."

"Will he? If he lives long enough! That same prototype bomb was stolen recently from Lexcorp in Metropolis. Who's to say it wasn't that bomb that made the street go kaboom? As for Lynns, he can easily be taken care of."

"As can you." came a voice. It wasn't Batman's for sure.

Walker spun around and found himself face to face with Lynns. Firefly braced his hands against either side of Drury's skull, charging them and sending shocks through Drury.

"Get him off! Batman, get him off!"

"Give me one good reason."

"Jus—Justice! You want justice! I-I have to be tried in court! Only then can you kill me!" Walker pleaded.

Batman pulled Firefly off. "Fine. We'll give you justice. And we'll see how long you last."

* * *

"Bruce, the verdict has just been released." Sasha said, coming down into the Batcave.

"I know." was Bruce's only reply. "Drury had the evidence tampered and Garfield never came to testify. And why would he? He would have to admit to his own crime's if he did. And so the Gotham Judicle system lets us down again and yet another guilty man runs free."

"And Walker knew it all along." Alfred said, handing Sasha a cup of tea. "He asked for justice, knowing it would never be served."

"So now what?" Sasha asked, taking a sip.

Bruce switched off the screen of his computer in the Batcave. "Walker has now impowered and set loose two enemies. First Clayface and now Firefly. Eventually they'll resurface, and when they do, Walker had better start running."

**A/N: I am SO sorry this took me so long. I've been doing a lot of other things, including school, and I got stuck in just about every chapter. I recently watched the JLU episode Epilogue, which seemed to give me a bit more enthusiasm for the story. Thanks to Darkflametailz and Mrs. Falsh for faithfully reviewing :D Thanks to everyone else who reviewed too. It really helps keep me going :)**


	16. Nothing to Fear, part 1

**A/N: Okay, so I'm trying to make this seem kind of scary, which really isn't my thing. Okay, so here goes nothing.**

Bill Mandarin – or Brute, as his fellow criminals knew him – was a simple minded man. He was also a fairly simple thug-for-hire. He didn't usually do any of the big jobs. He was just the extra guard or the additional hand. What confused him was the fact that he had been made one of the newest patients at Arkham. He knew for a fact that he wasn't insane and he would have much proffered to remain in Blackgate Prison. However, fate wouldn't have it that way and now he was being questioned by a thin man in an office that looked more like a mid-evil castle room. The walls were stone and bleak, and the place felt damp and cold. The man in front of him had a narrow frame and a mop of black hair on his head. His eyes were piercing and blue, seemingly staring right into him. He had introduced himself as Dr. Jonathan Crane and had immediately made him feel uncomfortable.

"Now, I understand you had some rather traumatic experiences as a child, but you never did explain what had happened for the other doctors." Crane said, leaning back in his chair.

Bill shrugged. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Did Crane seem almost pleased? "We all need to face our fears sooner or later. Sometimes, all we need is a little _shove _in the right direction." Crane smiled wickedly. He reached into a suitcase and pulled out a strange device and put it on. It appeared to be a sort of wire-frame glove. On the wrist it had cylinder, and on the second and third fingers were to syringe needles.

"Hey... What are you doing with that thing..." Bill began to sweat, uneasy about the liquid in the two syringes.

In a fast, fluid motion, Crane was out of his chair and right in front of the patient, the two needles puncturing his flesh in his neck and injecting the orangish liquid.

"Now tell me, what is it you fear?" Crane smiled wickedly.

"I... I feel...lightheaded..." Bill's eyes rolled back in his head, showing the whites. They seemed to settle and focus more.

o0o

When they did, his facial expression turned to one of horror. Small, spindly legs were cutting through the fabric of Crane's coat and pants. Hundreds of spiders of all shapes began crawling out, leaping off of Crane's body and onto Bill's. He began to scream in panic. Crane began to laugh madly as his fingers spread open, turning into eight legs, another spider's fangs sunk deep into his neck. He forced himself to look up at Crane. The doctor's face was rotten and skeletal. The eyes seemed to just barely sit in their sockets. A spider squeezed itself out from around one of the eyes, crawling out of the man's skull. Bill continued shrieking as hundreds more arachnids crawled out of Crane's mouth.

"Tell me what you see, Mr. Mandarin? WHAT IS IT YOU _FEAR!_"

"Spiders! Spiders! Get them off! _For God's sake, get them off!_" Bill screamed, mouth foaming.

At that moment, Crane's entire body fell apart, revealing it to be nothing but hundreds more spiders, all crawling up onto Bill and sinking their fangs deep into his flesh. Bill continued screaming and squirming, his eyes glazing over.

o0o

Crane scoffed at the unconscious man. "You certainly didn't last as long as the others." He commented, putting away his glove.

He called in several assistants who came in and took the man away. He then stepped outside, heading out to his car. When he got outside the Asylum, he pulled out a small tape recorder and switched it on.

"The subject, Bill Mandarin, lasted exactly forty-eight point sixty-two seconds, a new record from injection to unconsciousness. The hallucination set in at about three point fifty seconds, yet another record for reaction time. I'm going to need more supplies in order to make a more large scale experiment. Unfortunately the ingredients are rather hard to get in large quantities, so I'll have to acquire them by other means then the usual ones..."

* * *

"Gordon, come in." Came Bullocks voice through the lieutenant's walky-talky.

"Gordon here. What is it, Commissioner?" said officer asked, casually cruising along the Gotham streets in his squad car.

"There's been a break in at a chemical plant near your position."

"The Wayne Chem place?" The redheaded police officer asked.

"That's the one. Their security force is pretty small, so you'd better get on it."

"I'll radio if I need backup. Over and out." Gordon made a wide u-turn and swung around a corner, heading towards the large factory complex.

Gordon puled up outside of the chemical plant and went through the large, front gates. The outside of complex was quite and still, so he continued on into the main building. As he went through the main doors, a dark shadow rushed past behind him. He turned sharply, his gun raised and his eyes darting about wildly. Seeing he was alone, he lowered his gun. He stepped inside, listening.

"Look out!" Came a deep voice.

"Gordon threw himself to the ground as a volley of bullets flew overhead.

"Die, you murderer!" The shooter yelled, his features only briefly illuminated every time he fired a round.

Gordon rolled across the floor and fired at his attacker. There was a scream followed by a thud. Gordon went over to the body and shone his flashlight on it.

"But- But this is one of the guards..." Gordon said to himself, puzzled.

"He must've been insane like the others."

Gordon turned around, surprised, realizing that Batman was standing beside him. "What others?" He asked.

"Outside I encountered two other guards, both were delirious with fear."

Gordon eyed Batman, raising an eyebrow. "I could understand someone being afraid of you."

A ghost of a smile traced Batman's features, but quickly disappeared. "Understandable, but this was to the point of delirium. Each one had two small red dots on their necks, just above their pulse."

Gordon checked the corpse, finding two small marks right where Batman had described. The area was red and slightly wet.

"It's like he was injected with something..." Gordon mused.

"We'd better find whoever's behind this. Be careful."

"'We'? There is no 'we'. I'm a cop and you're..." Gordon looked up, finding that he was alone. "That's just creepy..." He muttered to himself.

Gordon entered a large room with tall vats all around him. Cautiously, he walked up and down the rows, searching for anything out of place. A small puddle of liquid was beside a steaming, concrete cylinder, suggesting someone had spilled stolen samples. He bent down to examine it. Unexpectedly, two thin arms rapped around his neck. Something stabbed in his pulse, followed by a warm rushing, like flowing liquid. It burned as it entered his blood stream, quickly taking effect. The needle retreated and he was kicked in the back. He slammed face first into one of the vats' walls, his body feeling weak. He slid down to the floor, sweating profusely.

o0o

Gordon struggled to get to his feet. He succeeded and then began staggering past the cylinders. His vision was fading in and out of focus. For and instant he could have sworn he had seen something like a creature of Hell coming strait at him. He lurched, but it disappeared. He continued wandering, trying to get outside. He collapsed on his hands and knees, his body feeling weak and his limbs shaking. He looked at the ground before him and gasped in horror.

"Barbra?" His eyes opened wide in shock at the corpse before him. "Oh, God no!" He began weeping, trying to contain himself. He reached out to touch her small body, but he stopped. His hands were covered in blood. The blood of his own daughter.

"You animal!"

He looked up, finding his parents, his wife, Bullock and Selina all standing around him, pointing accusingly.

"Killer!" His father's words cut like a knife.

"Murderer!" Bullock boomed.

"Monster!" His wife's voice was shrill and condemning.

"I'm sorry!" He pleaded. "But this wasn't my fault, I swear!"

"Killer!" "Animal!" "Murderer!" "Monster!"

"But I didn't do it... It wasn't my fault... I'm so sorry..." His voice broke down into sobs, darkness taking hold of his mind, his body falling limp in a faint. Just before he lost all consciousness, he could feel two strong hands grabbing his shoulders.

"Gordon!" Came a deep voice. "Hang on! I'm going to get you to a hospital. Gordon? Can you hear me? Gor-"

Anything else that was said was drowned in the oblivion that was unconsciousness.

o0o

Batman slung Gordon over his shoulder and broke into a mad dash for the door. He slammed it open with his fist, not breaking his stride.

Outside, two squad cars pulled up in front of the building. Two officers got out. Batman immediately recognized one as Salina, but the other was unfamiliar, possibly a rookie.

"Batman? What happened?" Selina asked, her voice full of worry.

"He's been injected with some kind fear toxin." Batman said, gently setting Gordon into the front passenger seat of the additional officer's vehicle.

"Roy, get him to a hospital. I'll investigate the area. Ask Bullock to send a forensic team out here."

"What about the Batman?" The cop named Roy asked, glaring at the caped figure.

"He can't contact HQ; he doesn't have a police radio."

"Thats not what I meant- Just forget it." He got into the car and sped off, leaving the two behind.

"Long time no see." She said, mock casually. Her eyes darted about.

"If you're hoping he'll step out into the open, he won't." Batman shook his head. "He's not here, I'm sure of it."

"Why?"

"Because he already got what he came for. He was retrieving something from the chemical compound, but I don't know what. I came into the room just as Gordon was injected. I didn't see much of the culprit."

"Any notable features?" She asked, stepping into the factory's main building.

"He wasn't very tall, no more than five-seven. He was extremely thin."

"Facial features?"

"Not sure. He was wearing a sackcloth bag over his head."

"A bag?"

"A rough sack to be more precise; like something you'd see a farmer putting produce in." Batman explained.

"Anything else?"

"Not that I can remember."

"Thanks for helping Gordon. I can hear the police sirens, so you'd better... Batman?" She looked around realizing that he was already gone. As the two additional squad cars drove through the gate, she could have sworn the red and blue lights illuminated a bat-shaped shadow.


End file.
